


The Children of the Tok'ra

by gatesmasher



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Gen, Humor, Kid Fic, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-03
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1421590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gatesmasher/pseuds/gatesmasher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassie Fraiser and Jon Coventry (Jack's clone) get a surprising call: seems the SGC and Tok'ra have a little problem; make that six little problems...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many sincere thanks to my beta, the amazing [](http://sistermu.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://sistermu.livejournal.com/)**sistermu**  .

"Jon, you’re two years younger than me," Cassie protested, dodging the seemingly innocent arm that had been sneaking up behind her on the couch-back.

"No, I’m thirty years older than you," Jon countered with a soft smile, brown eyes glinting in the firelight.

"Yuck," Cassie stated. "That doesn’t really make it any better."

"Well, let’s just say that I’m more than mature enough for an accomplished young lady such as yourself."

Cassie slid to the far end of her couch. "Mature is a matter of opinion." Deciding the lean young man was at a safe distance, she made to rise when his long legs suddenly shot out, tripping her up. "Jon!" Her fall was somehow converted to a guided roll to the thick carpeted floor and before she knew it she was safe and sound in front of the fireplace, pinned under 170 pounds of iron-strong muscles.

A sardonic grin answered her flustered sputtering. "I may be only twenty years old, but I’ve got the Special Ops experience of a much longer life."

Cassie struggled, but gave it up as his grin grew. Attempting to resurrect her hopelessly compromised dignity, she stated, "One would think you could put that experience to better use."

"Better use than seducing a brilliant and beautiful woman?" The grin faded, Jon’s chocolate-brown eyes darkening. "I don’t think so."

Cassie realized her hands, which should have been pushing the impossible boy away, were actually pulling him into an embrace. She stopped, took a clearing breath and tried to speak logically. "Jon, we’ve discussed this. We just…can’t. Our history, our situation. You knew me when I was a child."

"So? Lots of people knew each other when they were children. You never heard of childhood sweethearts?"

"You met me when I was eleven…"

"And then you met me when I was fifteen. Now we’re both adults and there’s nothing in our way."

He lowered his head and their lips met, the kiss sweet and tentative.

She broke it off. "Sam will freak."

Jon nuzzled at her throat. "She’ll deal with it."

"Jack will definitely freak."

There was a snuffle of laughter against her skin. "I don’t care. He’ll deal with it eventually too."

"Daniel…might not freak."

"Mm, good ol’ Daniel." He raised his lips back to hers, the second kiss deeper.

Again she broke off. She cupped his face and, with a gentle smile, said, "Janet, I think, would…approve."

He paused, his smile echoing hers, and said softly, "Yeah, I think so, too." He kissed her on the nose and whispered, "And I hope your birth parents would too."

She pulled his face down and the kiss went deep and urgent this time, on and on…

Until the phone rang.

Jon groaned and Cassie giggled into his mouth.

"Easy, big guy," she said. "The machine’ll pick it up."

After the third ring, her recording came on. "This is Cassandra Fraiser. I’m out right now, probably getting drunk in celebration of completing my master’s degree. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call when I’m not hung-over any more."

Jon raised a brow and Cassie gave an unrepentant smirk. Then the caller’s voice came on.

"I see. Well, this is General Hank Landry, Ms. Fraiser."

They both jerked, coming to a ludicrous form of attention as they lay tangled on the carpet.

Landry continued: "And drunk, hung-over or not, I would appreciate a return call, ASAP."

"Crap!" Cassie struggled out from under her 6 foot 2 companion as he worked at cross purposes, almost getting a knee to the crotch for his troubles.

"Ouch! Watch it! Just—"

"Move it, flyboy!"

"I’m not a flyboy any more!"

Landry’s voice continued: "I believe you know the number. Time is just a tad of the essence, so your prompt response would be preferred."

Cassie had only spoken to General Landry a few times, and though the man’s sarcasm was already legendary, he sounded especially tense to her right now.

"Damn it!" She finally crawled out from under Jon and lurched at the phone. "General! I’m here! Don’t hang up!"

"I wouldn’t dream of it, Ms. Fraiser," came the drawled reply. "Are you drunk?"

"I—what?"

"Per your message. Are you drunk?"

"Oh. No, no, I’m not drunk."

Back on the rug, Jon snorted. Cassie flapped an arm at him.

"Are you hung-over?"

"No, sir. I’m not hung-over either." Great. That was the last time she left a funny message on her answering machine. Jon’s snorting laughter rose in volume.

"How fortunate for me," Landry observed. "Well, then. Congratulations on your graduation and how soon do you think you can be at Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Be…at the Mountain? Is something wrong? Is Sam okay?"

Jon sobered immediately, sitting up.

"Colonel Carter is well, but your presence is required as soon as possible."

"But can you tell me why?"

"What’s wrong?" Jon hissed.

Cassie shrugged at him, shaking her head.

"Is someone with you, Ms. Fraiser?"

"Yes. It’s okay, though, it’s Jon Coventry."

"Jon Coventry?"

Not sure if the general would recognize the name the cloned man had chosen, his mother’s maiden name, Cassie explained, "Yes, you know, the boy who came to us about five years ago?"

"Oh, *that* Jon Coventry," the general said dryly. There was a long pause.

"General?"

"Hold on, I’m thinking." Eventually there was a sigh. "Are the two of you alone?"

"Yes, sir."

"Could you please put me on speaker phone?"

Cassie pushed the button. "Okay, you’re on speaker now, general."

"Mr. Coventry?" Landry asked.

Jon stood and joined Cassie. "Yes, sir, I’m here."

"Right. Well, this does concern both of you, although Ms. Fraiser was deemed the one most appropriate. Bit sexist, if you ask me, but there you go."

"General…" Jon ground out, the two of them exchanging baffled looks.

"Sorry to be so mysterious," he said, not sounding sorry in the least. "So how soon can the two of you be at Cheyenne Mountain?"

"As soon as you need us, sir," Jon said stoutly.

"But, general, is everyone okay?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Nothing’s wrong with Sam?"

There was a pause so short that they weren’t sure if they imagined it. "The good colonel is perfectly healthy."

"Healthy and…conscious?" Jon hazarded.

"Oh yes, conscious and…*chattering.*" They could almost see the wince. "Chattering virtually non-stop."

Cassie looked helplessly at Jon. "Well, of course, we’re at your disposal, sir, but…"

"Good." Another pause. "Sorry to be so personal," Landry said with a continued lack of apology in his voice, "but may I ask if the two of you are, as it were, *together?*"

"No, sir," Cassie said at the same time Jon said, "Yes, sir."

As they glared at each other, Landry chuckled. "I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ All to the good. Pack your bags, you two. Walter will call you with the details, but consider yourselves on the first flight out in the morning."

*-*-*

Twelve hours later found the newly minted couple in the briefing room in the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain, waiting for General Landry to join them. Cassie had asked around after the whereabouts of SG-1, but it seemed the entire team was off-world on a mission and no one was able, or willing, to supply any details.

As they sat at the table, Jon leaned over to Cassie. "Tell me again what was the last thing Carter said."

"She said they were going to tie up one last detail of an old problem. I took that to mean that they’d finally found the last Ba’al clone and were going to take care of him. I asked if it was anything dangerous and she said, ‘Not remotely.’ She said the whole ‘gang,’ which is code for SG-1, plus one alumnus was going, so I’m pretty sure that meant Uncle Jack."

Jon frowned at the ‘uncle’, but shrugged. "Explains why he’s not in DC, at least." Jon rubbed at his nose, thinking. "I’ve never met either Cameron Mitchell or Vala Mal Doran…"

"And how do you even know those *classified* names?"

"Um. I still have a few friends here."

He gave her that grin of his which never failed to melt her heart and resolve, and Cassie could only grin back and shrug. In all likelihood the ‘friend’ was Daniel, whom Cassie knew had kept in touch with the clone, unlike his DNA-donor, Jack.

Just then General Landry, another Air Force officer, and a woman walked in. Cassie guessed the woman was Tok’ra by the vaguely supercilious attitude and the typical rough-woven clothing, in this case, a flowing dress in dun-brown.

Cassie and Jon made to stand, but Landry waved them down. "Sit, everyone. We’re on too tight a schedule to stand on ceremony."

The officer looked somewhat put out, but the Tok’ra sat without comment, choosing the chair directly across from Jon.

Speaking to the Tok’ra woman, General Landry said, "Chancellor, this is Jon Coventry."

"Mr. Coventry," the woman said, her voice reverberating with the distinctive dual tone of a symbiote.

The general turned to Jon and continued, "I believe, Mr. Coventry, that you have memories of Anise, now High Chancellor of the Tok’ra?"

Jon gave a tight smile. "What a pleasure to see you again," he said though clenched teeth. "And to see you in new duds only increases the pleasure."

Cassie glanced over at her tense boyfriend, then at the conservatively dressed woman who nodded across the table at him. Cassie placed a hand on Jon’s knee, out of sight under the table, burning with curiosity at what the Tok’ra used to dress like.

"Congratulations on your promotion," Jon added. "And, uh, Freya, too."

Anise dropped her head. When she raised it, her face was subtly different and Cassie realized it was now the host in control.

"Thank you, Jon," Freya said, a special warmth in her tone that wasn’t there when Anise spoke.

Cassie was unpleasantly surprised to feel stirrings of what could only be jealously, and the hand on Jon’s knee tightened possessively.

With a pained smile, Jon said, "Hey there, Freya. How ya doing?"

"Quite well. However, I typically relinquish control to Anise for dealings such as these."

Jon shrugged with badly concealed relief. "See ya ‘round."

The Tok’ra did the head dipping thing again, this time her eyes flashing silver as Anise reestablished control.

Bushy brows raised high with amusement, General Landry continued the introductions. "High Chancellor Anise, this young lady is Cassandra Fraiser, daughter of the late Janet Fraiser."

"Janet Fraiser was a healer and a warrior," Anise stated. "Her loss is still felt by the Tok’ra."

"Thank you, ma’am," Cassie said, willing to give her the benefit of the doubt despite Jon’s hostility.

"Hey, don’t tell me!" Jon said with false brightness. "The Tok’ra need our help!"

As Cassie kicked him under the table, Anise gave him a cool look. "While help is indeed sought, it is not the Tok’ra who are in need."

"Mr. Coventry, while you are under my authority, you will keep a civil tongue in your head," Landry said mildly. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. And to complete the introductions, this gentleman is Colonel Morrison of the NID."

The Air Force officer, a stocky black man with close cropped hair going gray at the temples, nodded at the couple.

If Jon was tense before, he positively bristled now. "The NID? What the hell do they—"

"Mr. Coventry!" Landry shouted.

Kicking Jon even harder, Cassie plastered a pleasant smile on her face. "General, may we be told now why we were sent for?"

"Ms. Fraiser," Anise interrupted. "I am informed you just graduated from your institute of higher learning. What was your area of interest?"

"I just completed my Masters in Public Policy, with an emphasis on Economics, ma’am."

"And what is the import of this degree?"

"I hope to join Stargate Command and work toward aligning the interests of off-world governments with our own."

Anise nodded. "Very good. I believe you may consider this your first trial."

"My first…?"

Anise turned to Jon. "And you, Mr. Coventry. What have you accomplished with your years of experience and your youthful body?"

Cassie studied the High Chancellor’s bland expression. She and Jon were being vetted. But for what purpose?

Jon fidgeted, covering it by straightening in his seat. There was a certain defensive edge to his voice as he said, "I finished high school early and got an Associate of Arts degree in English."

"Wasn’t that your original degree for the Officer’s Academy?" Landry asked skeptically. "Playing it safe, are we, Mr. Coventry?"

The young man couldn’t hide his fidgeting this time. "I—well, I just—I want to join the SGC again, but I don’t want to go the Air Force route again, and I’m not sure I have the brains for the science divisions…" He dropped his eyes. "I think I have a lot to offer, but I’m just not sure in what…capacity."

Cassie squeezed his leg, trying to think of something supportive to say. She knew Jon was as smart as Jack O’Neill, but that kind of street-smart was hard to measure or quantify.

However, Anise seemed to be satisfied by his response. She turned to Landry. "General, with your permission, I would like Ms. Fraiser and Mr. Coventry to accompany me to Egerush now."

Landry’s furry brows rose in bewilderment. "Now? But the briefing—"

"Will be conducted on Egerush," Anise finished. "I believe it to be safer that way." She glanced at the NID officer.

Landry clamped his professional façade back down, then gave a curt nod. "Very well."

Colonel Morrison spoke for the first time, all but rolling his eyes. "Ma’am," he said to Anise. "We are much more interested in the device than the children."

Cassie and Jon blinked. *Children?*

"Nevertheless," Anise stated firmly.

The general turned to Cassie and Jon. "Then if you two are agreeable, you can leave right now."

Jon sputtered. "I—what? Where? Why should we trust—"

A third kick had the young man moving his shins out of Cassie’s range with a poorly smothered yelp. She asked the general, "Sir, does this have to do with SG-1? And General O’Neill?"

"Yes, it does. Apparently all will be explained when you arrive. Colonel Ferretti with SG-2 is there already, as is Dr. Lam."

"Dr. Lam? But you said they’re okay?"

"They’re not sick and not harmed. Now why don’t you gear up while I get the ‘gate spinning. Oh, and Ms. Fraiser?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Keep an eye on him," the general ordered, cocking his head at Jon.

"Uh…yes, sir."

Everyone rose when the general did, and Cassie and Jon, numb with confusion, geared up as ordered. Thirty minutes later the ‘gate was indeed spinning by the time they reached the Embarkation Room. Despite everything the two young people grinned at each other, lost in the moment as the noise, the steamy heat, the metallic smell and the vibrations washed over them.

"This is my first time through since I was a girl," Cassie said.

Jon took her hand, not caring who was watching. "And as far as this body goes, my first time through, period."

As the heart-stopping ka-woosh of the establishing wormhole filled the room, Anise with a Tok’ra aide, and the NID officer with two civilians joined them. General Landry’s voice came from the control room above them. "High Chancellor and entourage, you have a go."

"Entourage? Me?" Jon growled under his breath. Then skipped aside as Cassie twitched a foot at him. "Hey, I’m limping as it is!"

"Then behave, Mr. Associate of Arts."

"Yes, oh Mistress of Public Policy."

Anise spoke from behind. "Is this the sexual foreplay of young Tau’ri?"

The two gave a guilty start. "No, ma’am," Cassie said as Jon said, "Yes, ma’am."

Anise raised a brow, then swept past them, her aide and the NID group following closely as she continued on up to and through the open wormhole. Cassie and Jon trailed them and, still holding hands, plunged through the stargate together.

*-*-*

It was a fairly long walk through the misty Tok’ra city and Cassie found herself craning her head up from side to side like a country rube trying to see the tall buildings. She didn’t care what she looked like. Jon could act as cool as he wanted, but this was only the third planet Cassie had been to, and she didn’t plan on missing a single thing.

Cassie increased her pace, maneuvering between the growing ranks of aides and hangers-on that the High Chancellor had been attracting like flies since they arrived. When she made it to the Chancellor’s side, she waited for a pause in the demands for Anise’s attention, then asked, "Ma’am, if you have a moment, I was wondering if there was any trouble at Ba’al’s extraction."

"No, Ms. Fraiser," Anise said, signaling yet another aide to back off. "I didn’t attend myself, but am informed the extraction went as planned. The Gou’ald made the usual nebulous threats of dire consequences, of course." She waved a dismissive hand. "He apparently seemed quite surprised when nothing stopped the process. Regardless, the Gou’ald symbiote is dead, and the host is recovering as well as may be expected with the memories of decades of infestation."

Cassie glanced around, but no one was interrupting and Jon seemed content to let Cassie take the lead, so she spoke up again. "I’d like to ask about your city. What did you say its name was?"

"Egerush. Named for our founder, Queen Egeria."

"A Tok’ra city… It’s beautiful."

Anise nodded, pleased.

Cassie continued, "Has it been quite a change, then? After living underground for centuries, to living in the open? And in tall buildings, too?"

"It has not been merely centuries, but forever as far as our species is concerned. We have been forced to hide our whole existence since our existence began."

"And now that’s over."

"Yes, our purpose has been achieved and yet we remain."

Cassie shook her head, half in admiration, half in amazement. It was hard to conceive of two millennia of concealment. "But, what now? What will be the future for the Tok’ra?"

"What indeed," Anise mused, as if thinking on it for the first time.

"Your very name means ‘against Ra.’ Now there are no more Gou’ald system lords at all, much less Ra himself. Will your people find a new purpose?"

Anise eyed Cassie and Jon speculatively. "I believe we may have recently discovered such a purpose, or at least the beginnings of one."

"That’s wonderful, ma’am."

As an aide cut in with an impatient question, Cassie wondered what future the Tok’ra *could* have. How could the Tok’ra continue at all without new members of its species?

Soon they entered one especially ornate building. In the lobby, the Chancellor paused as if undecided, then she turned down a hallway, her aides floundering in her wake.

 

"But, High Chancellor, the conference chamber is not—"

"We are proceeding straight to the nursery. I believe for our Tau’ri guests, that seeing will be believing."

"Nursery?" Jon muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Cassie, but she could only shrug.

Soon they reached a concourse, an atrium of sorts. Sunlight filtered through high opaque skylights, illuminating a huge, curving convex glass wall. Seats like bleachers climbed the walls facing the glass, completely filled with at least a couple hundred people, Tok’ra men and women, sitting quietly, pointing through the glass and murmuring to one another occasionally.

As Cassie and the others approached, she tried to see what was in the glassed-off room when the olive-drab of USAF BDUs caught her eye. Jon had seen them too: four people standing to one side of the bleachers closest to the glass. The couple branched off from the High Chancellor’s group, and went to what must be SG-2.

Louis Ferretti nodded to Cassie as they approached, eying Jon curiously.

"*Colonel* Ferretti?" Jon asked with a smirk.

Cassie saw the light go on in the colonel’s eyes, and a wide grin crinkled his face. "Mr. Coventry, I presume."

The two pumped a hand shake, then Cassie got a hug.

"Hey, Uncle Lou."

"How’s my girl doing? You graduate yet?"

"Yep. With honors."

"Oy. Another brainiac in the SGC family." He looked Jon over critically. "No worries about this bozo showing you up."

"Hey, I’m doing just fine, thanks."

"Fine, huh?" Lou glanced at Cassie and crooked a thumb at Jon. "This guy giving you any trouble?"

"What? No," Cassie denied, blushing.

Jon dropped his eyes, and Lou’s smile grew crafty. "Are the two of you—?"

"No!" Cassie shouted before the question could be finished or Jon respond. As the two men smirked at one another, Cassie drew herself up to her full 5 foot 4 height and demanded, "So what exactly is going on here?"

Lou’s smile faded, although it seemed to Cassie that he still had a twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, uh, the Chancellor didn’t brief you?"

"No," Jon said. "And we’re getting a little tired of the mystery."

"No more mystery here. Just have a look-see." Lou pointed to the glass wall.

As the young couple looked, Anise, who stood waiting for them at the wall, gestured them over. Lou came with them.

Cassie studied the enclosure as they approached. The room behind the glass was a large oblong, and flooded with the same natural sunlight as the outer concourse. It did seem to be a nursery of some sort, although sparsely decorated by Earth standards. The furniture was limited to modular stools in a drab beige, strewn throughout the room on the equally drab beige floor. The only toys visible were some blobby pillow-like things, beige again, that couldn’t really be called balls, although they could be thrown like one, as a little boy demonstrated as they came right up to the glass.

There were one, two… Cassie craned her neck, standing on tiptoes. Six children, in all. They seemed to be around preschool age, maybe three or four years old, five at the most. They were all dressed in miniature versions of the rough-woven earth-toned tunics and leggings the Tok’ra favored. Two girls huddled in one corner, surrounded by stools like a fort, blond and brunette heads popping up occasionally as they peeked at the room’s four other occupants, all boys.

Three of the boys stood gathered in a loose group at the other end of the oblong enclosure, the tallest of whom was also the darkest-skinned of the children. He stood with arms akimbo, watching the boy who’d thrown the pillow-blob-ball thing, this boy only slightly shorter than the dark one. A towheaded boy jumped and crowed as the flung blob hit its victim, the last child in the room: a pale, fair-haired boy who sat alone on a stool in the center of the room, crossed arms held protectively around his torso, eyes down, giving no reaction as the impact of the pillow rocked his head to one side. The litter of other pillow-blobs surrounding the isolated boy told an eloquent if silent story.

Something about these children… Something about them teased unpleasantly at Cassie’s brain…

After the pillow hit, a murmuring rippled through the surrounding Tok’ra crowd. Not really approving or disapproving, Cassie thought, just…interested.

Beside her, Jon shrugged. "Okay, so cute little mini-Tok’ra kids. But what do they have to do with SG-1 and General O’Neill?" he demanded of High Chancellor Anise.

Cassie was certain there *were* no Tok’ra children. "Uh, Jon…" she said, the hair suddenly rising on the back of her neck.

"Yes, Mr. Coventry," Anise drawled. "Please listen to your lover and look again."

Jon spared the Chancellor quick glare, then did as ordered. "Okay, yeah, six kids, check. Two girls, four boys, check. Dark-haired girl, blond girl, check. Black boy, two blond boys, one brown-haired boy…" Jon trailed off, squinting hard at the blob throwing boy, who’d just picked up another pillow-ball and stood aiming with theatrical precision at his motionless target. "One brown-haired boy…who looks like…like…" The color drained from Jon’s face. "Holy shit…" he breathed.

"Roger that," Lou confirmed.

Cassie pointed a shaking finger at the nursery. "That’s…SG-1?"

"Yes, Ms. Fraiser," Anise confirmed, looking at the children with something like satisfaction. "The five members of SG-1, plus General O’Neill, regressed to the equivalent of four Tau’ri years."

"But—but—" Jon stammered, "they’re—they’re—"

"They’re adorable!" Cassie burst out before she could stop herself. Jon stared at her. "Well, they are," she said.

Jon rolled his eyes, muttering, "Chicks!" under his breath.

"Oh, look!" Cassie stood on tiptoes again, trying to see into the girl’s stool-fort. "Sam’s braiding Vala’s pigtails! Aww, they look like Rafael cherubs."

The little-girl Sam, blond curls framing her deep blue eyes, held the tip of her tongue to her lip as she concentrated her efforts on her companion’s thick black hair. The miniature astrophysicist’s single-mindedness contrasted sharply with Vala, who couldn’t seem to hold still, constantly turning her head, trying to see Sam’s progress.

A reluctant grin spreading over Jon’s face, he said, "Yeah, they are cutie-pies, aren’t they?" Then he looked over to the other side of the enclosure. "The boys on the other hand…"

"They’re cute as buttons," Cassie protested.

"Yeah, but there’s a definite ‘Lord of the Flies’ vibe going on there. And all is not well in Danny-town."

"Oh, well, they’re just…"

At the boys’ end of the nursery, Jack, for it was Jack, tossed his pillow-ball straight up, spinning and catching it several times, short, stubby legs spread in a wide stance, a disturbingly knowing smile playing over his innocent child’s lips as he stared steadily at his blond-haired victim, obviously none other than Daniel. It was hard to see Daniel’s down-cast face, but Cameron and Teal’c, light and dark sides of the same hyperactive coin, hovered around their little general, avidly glancing back and forth between pillow thrower and pillow target.

"Um," Cassie continued, doubtfully, "well, they *are* cute as buttons…"

"Uh huh."

"Can they see us?" Cassie asked the High Chancellor.

"No, from the inside they can neither hear nor see us. However they are aware that we are here for them."

That seemed on odd way to phrase it Cassie thought. "How long have they been like this?"

"Almost two days now," Ferretti answered.

Jon asked, "Why haven’t they been brought back to Earth?"

Ferretti eyed Anise. "Bit complicated," he said.

"Perhaps you could start at the beginning, High Chancellor Anise?" Cassie prompted.

"After Ba’al’s extraction, the council invited Dr. Jackson and Lt. Colonel Carter to observe a device recovered from the inner chambers of Ba’al’s last known stronghold. The rest of SG-1 and General O’Neill elected to join them. They were in the laboratory housing the device when it somehow activated and…you see the result."

"Can’t it be reversed?" Cassie asked.

Anise shook her head decisively. "The mechanism overloaded and burned. Our scientists are examining it now, but it appears to be nothing but melted metal at this point."

"How did it get set off?" Jon demanded.

"That remains a point of contention, but it is possible Dr. Jackson activated it inadvertently."

"Great."

Cassie said, "So, this is—is permanent?"

The High Chancellor nodded. "There is no other known device like it, or known technology. So, yes, Ms. Fraiser, to our knowledge, at this point, it appears to be permanent."

"Holy shit," Jon muttered again.

Remembering what the general had mentioned earlier, Cassie looked around. "Wait, where’s Dr. Lam?

Ferretti shrugged and said, "Probably weeping quietly in a corner somewhere."

Cassie frowned at Lou’s unrepentant grin. "Does she agree with the High Chancellor’s conclusions?"

"Oh, yeah," Ferretti confirmed.

In the nursery, Jack suddenly called out in his high-pitched child’s voice, "Give up, Daniel? You ready to apologize?"

Daniel didn’t respond or move, remaining huddled on his stool.

Cameron said, "Forget it, O’Neill. He’s never gonna admit it."

"Oh, my god," Cassie breathed. "Do they have their memories?"

"Yes," Anise said.

"Holy shit," Jon said for the third time.

"Jon…" Cassie dug an elbow in Jon’s side.

"Sorry, but…" Jon waved numbly at the nursery.

Just then Jack threw his latest ball-blob overhand, tagging Daniel on the head again.

As the watching Tok’ra voiced another collective murmur, Jon crooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Ya know, this pep rally deal ya got going here is really starting to creep me out."

When Daniel once more gave no reaction to the lobbed ball, Jack threw up his hands in disgust and turned his back. Which was apparently just what Daniel was waiting for. The tiny archeologist jumped up and sprinted as fast as his short legs could carry him toward his former CO, unhesitatingly launching himself at, and tackling the other boy from behind, both of them sprawling headlong on the soft floor.

The excitement of the Tok’ra increased as Daniel flailed wildly, pounding at the boy under him, screaming, "I didn’t do it, Jack! It wasn’t me! I didn’t touch anything!"

"Um, ma’am? Someone might want to step in at this point," Cassie said, shifting from foot to foot and glancing with a frown at the bleachers of nodding, pointing Tok’ra.

"Oh, no," Anise said calmly.

Inside, Jack thrashed about ineffectively, screaming in return, "Did too! This is your fault, Daniel! This is all your fault!"

"‘No’?" Cassie repeated, looking with at Anise with disbelief. "What do you mean?"

Anise glanced at Cassie as if she were a particularly dense student and said with complete conviction, "Children must be free to experiment, to interact, to explore the outside world without petty restrictions on creativity. These are concepts drawn from your own Tau’ri literature," she assured them, although neither Cassie nor Jon had collected their wits enough to respond, much less protest. Obviously quoting some child-care book or other, Anise stated, "Problem behavior arises from attention seeking." She waved at the packed bleachers. "And you can see all the attention these children receive."

Cassie shook her head. "But, ma’am, I don’t think this really counts as attention—"

"Yes, empathy is the important thing," Anise continued with the air of one stating a self-apparent truth. "A child’s behavior follows his heart. One must be concerned less by what one sees on the outside, and much more by what’s going on in his head and heart."

With whoops worthy of a whole war-party of four-year olds, Cameron stripped off his tunic and, waving it over his head like a flag, began running in circles around the fighting boys. Even Teal’c got into the act, jumping from stool to stool, piping something in Goa’uld that would probably have sounded menacing coming from his former 6 foot 4 self.

Meanwhile the two girls choose that moment to launch their own attack. They dashed from their fort, Vala’s shock of black hair streaming free as the braids came undone. When they reached their teammates, the two girls rained ball-blobs down on the wrestling boys, shrieking incoherently at the top of their lungs.

Jon plugged his ears, one eye twitching spastically as he shouted, "There’s empathy and then there’s freakin’ chaos!"

"Chaos! Yes!" Anise’s eyes shone as she allowed emotion to color her voice for the first time. "Don’t you see? This is just what the Tok’ra need! Passion, zeal, enthusiasm: things that only children can bring to a weary people!"

Cassie and Jon gaped at her as she stared avidly at the cavorting preschoolers.

It seemed that Sam had managed to open up one of the pillow-things and in short order some kind of grayish gel-like stuff joined the balls Vala continued to pelt at the boys.

"But, High Chancellor," Cassie said, trying to keep her voice professional, "there has to be some control. Where do you draw the line? When they draw blood?"

"Precisely," Anise confirmed serenely. "Ah, and so they have."

Cassie spun back to the nursery to see Jack’s face spotted with blood, the wailing boy still kicking in a futile attempt to dislodge his blob-ball target turned tormentor.

"Let us in there, goddamn it," Jon growled.

"As you say." Anise nodded to an aide, who placed a control of some kind on the glass wall, opening a door that had been invisible moments before.

Cassie and Jon both rushed forward, stopping up together in the doorway before popping through to rush to the two combatants.

Cassie swooped down and plucked up Daniel. The boy hung from her arms, eyes screwed shut as he continue to kick and flail, unaware that he’d been removed from the wrestling match.

Jon knelt by Jack, trying to contain the thrashing boy long enough to wipe up his face with a tissue.

The girls’ pillow barrage stopped as Sam got a good look at the young woman holding the thrashing Daniel. Then the little blond girl gave a shrieking cheer and rushed up, chanting, "Cassie’s here! Cassie’s here! Cassie’s here!"

Vala, not to be outdone, joined the chorus at twice the volume. "Cassie’s here, Cassie’s here! Wait, who’s Cassie?"

Sam rolled her wide blue eyes. "Duh! She’s Janet’s daughter!"

"Oh! Cassie’s here, Cassie’s here! Wait, who’s Janet?"

Teal’c hopped to a stool right behind Cassie, warbling something in Goa’uld that was probably a greeting, but had her cringing in surprise. Sam and Vala pranced around her like manic flower girls tossing slippery gray pillow-ball innards as they went.

Daniel, who had finally noticed he’d been pulled off Jack, struggled in Cassie’s embrace, dropping to the floor and stamping his foot down on Cassie’s toes. "It wasn’t my fault! It wasn’t!" he howled.

The half-naked Cameron continued his whirlwind tour of the group’s perimeter, shouting to Daniel as he ran by, "Was too your fault!" and to Jack as he ran by, "Ha ha, Jackson beat you up!"

Jack kicked and slapped at Jon’s attempts to help, blood from a split lip joining the tears and snot dripping from his face. "He didn’t beat me up! And why didn’t you warn me? I’m supposed to be in charge here!"

Teal’c leaped to a stool in front of Jack. "If you were a true leader you would not have fallen prey to a surprise attack." He jumped off immediately, leaving the crying Jack to swipe futilely at the empty air where he’d just been.

Cassie looked helplessly at Jon, her ears ringing as the cacophony only increased.

"Cassie’s here!" "Was too your fault!" "I’m in charge! I am!" "I remember Cassie, I remember Cassie!" "I didn’t touch it! I didn’t!" "Tek ma te, Cassandra Fraiser!"

Jon straightened, massaging his temples. The High Chancellor had followed them into the nursery and he gave her a weak smile. "So you’ll be wanting us to take these little heathens off your hands, then?" he asked in a shout.

"You misunderstand us, Mr. Coventry," Anise stated, her clear tones carrying through the bedlam. "These young ones are our responsibility, perhaps our very future. They are the Children of the Tok’ra and we are not inclined to release our children from our guardianship."

Jon’s wide and disbelieving eyes met Cassie’s. ‘Children of the Tok’ra?’ he mouthed.

Lou Ferretti strolled up, dodged the blurred dervish that was his former fellow colonel, Cameron, and fixed Cassie and Jon with a wry smile. "If you two lovebirds want these brats—uh, these little angels, I think you got a bit of a nasty custody battle on your hands."

 

  



	2. Chapter 2

Jon Coventry clung to the protesting four-year-old, his mind whirling as fast as the preschoolers who still dashed around him, Lou Ferretti’s words echoing in his head.

Custody battle? His girlfriend wouldn’t even admit to *being* his girlfriend and he was in a custody battle with a planet full of psycho—

A little sandaled foot connecting with his shin brought his attention back to the boy he was attempting to help. "Ow! Damn it!" Jon shouted. Of course the little snot would manage to find the same spot Cassie’d been pounding on all morning. Not that he hadn’t deserved every kick, but still. "Hey, come on, big guy," he coaxed. "Tryin’ to help here."

"I don’t want your help, snakehead!" Jack shouted.

"That what you think I am?"

Jack glared suspiciously as Ferretti passed a wet cloth along to Jon, but at least the boy stopped struggling. Jon wiped the mess off Jack’s face, but when he got to the boy’s fat lip, blood still seeping, Jack winced, outrage resurfacing.

"Daniel hit me!"

"And this surprises you…why?"

There was a pause, then a wet sniffle. "He hit me."

"Hey, buddy, you know better than me that Daniel can only be pushed so far before he fights back. And when Daniel fights, he fights dirty."

"Well, he shouldn’t fight dirty."

"Um, let’s think back on who taught him to fight."

"Oh, he always fought dirty," Jack stated emphatically.

Jon chuckled, dabbing as gently as he knew how at Jack’s lip. Jack continued to watch him with narrowed eyes, then suddenly they widened with comprehension.

"Mini-me! You’re Mini-me!"

"Thinkin’ I graduated to Maxi-me at this point."

A few feet over, Cassie turned the still sputtering Daniel around to face her, kneeling down and trying to get him to focus on something besides his litany of denial.

"I keep telling ‘em, but they won’t believe me!"

She cupped the boy’s cheek, soft and plump with baby fat, and ducked to get her face in his field of vision. "Daniel! Hey! Do you recognize me?"

Blond brows lowered in an adorable version of the adult man’s familiar frown. "…Cassie?"

She grinned as he became aware of Sam and Vala, who still pranced around her, shouting her name in piercing tones. "Yes, I think it’s unanimous. I’m Cassie, all right."

The frown transformed into instant delight and Cassie was treated to a full-body hug. "Cassie! You’re here! Good, you can tell them I didn’t do it. They’ll believe you. Tell Jack."

"Um…"

"Jack’s mean and stupid and he won’t listen to me."

"Daniel," she said, voice full of reproach. "Come on. You and Jack are best friends."

With the lightening-fast mood changes of the four-year-old he appeared to be, Daniel’s happiness at seeing Cassie evaporated into a foul-tempered pout. "No, we’re not! I hate him! He’s mean and stupid. Just like Mitchell and Teal’c and—and Sam and Vala. I hate them all!"

"Aw, sweetheart, but why?"

The pout dissolved into tears as Daniel wailed, "’Cause—‘cause they hate me!" The boy buried his face in Cassie’s shoulder.

She looked over to Jon who returned her overwhelmed look as he helped Jack blow his nose.

Hearing Daniel’s sobs, Jack pushed Jon away and shouted, "Crybaby!"

Daniel spun around in Cassie’s arms and his childishly high-pitched cry of "Fuck you, Jack!" echoed disturbingly off the glass wall.

Putting thumb and forefinger to her lips, Cassie let loose a piercing whistle and the kids all stopped in their tracks. The shirt-waving Cameron ended his circling run; the stool-hopping Teal’c halted his latest leap one tottering moment before it began; the prancing Sam and Vala froze in mid-cavort; Jack retrieved his stuck-out tongue with an audible slurp; and Daniel looked up at his formerly-younger friend in awe.

"Cool, Cassie," Daniel said. "I didn’t know you could do that."

"Well, I can. Now I want everyone to just—"

"Cassie’s here too?" Jack bounded over.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Duh, Jack. Didn’t you hear what Sam and Vala were yelling about?" He peered around Jack to Jon and, as if they met each other like this everyday, said offhandedly, "Oh, hi, Jon."

"Who knows what girls yell about?" Jack said with a dismissive shrug.

Sam stepped up to her former CO, arms akimbo. "Oh, yeah? Well—well—wouldn’t you like to know what we yell about?"

Vala gave her fellow girl a doubtful glance, but nevertheless joined her defensive stance and loyally seconded, "Yeah!"

"Huh?" Jack backed up a step from the girls’ united front, blinking in confusion.

Cameron, struggling to put his tunic back on, said, "Sam, that doesn’t even make any sense."

"Oh, he knows what I mean."

"I do?"

Cassie waved a hand to attract their attention. "Hey, getting off track here."

Jon joined her. "Yeah. We’ll solve the old ‘who’s got more cooties, girls or boys?’ question another time."

As the preschoolers snickered, Cassie firmed her hand on Daniel’s shoulder. "Now, what’s going on between Jack and Daniel?"

Jack’s gaze dropped, but Sam piped up. "Oh, it’s Daniel’s fault we’ve little and Jack wants him to apologize."

Daniel bristled like a terrier. "Was not my fault!"

Sounding like everyone’s least favorite prissy schoolteacher, Sam pursed her lips and said, "Now, Daniel, you know it is. You were the only one near it."

Once, a few years ago, when Daniel’d had too much wine, he’d confessed to Cassie that he always hated it when Sam used that ‘you’re my little brother, so just do what I telling you’ voice on him. Of course he swore Cassie to secrecy because he’d never hurt Sam’s feelings by actually telling her that.

Now, Daniel scowled at his surrogate ‘big’ sister and said, "You know, I’ve always hated it when you talk to me like that, Sam."

Ah, to be a child again, Cassie thought. As Sam mirrored her fellow scientist’s scowl, Cassie cleared her throat and continued loudly, "Sooo, the High Chancellor mentioned a device that went off?"

"Yeah, when Daniel set it off," Jack muttered under his breath.

Jon held up a finger. "Aht! Facts only. Did you see him set it off?"

"That is true, O’Neill," Teal’c piped up from where he squatted on a stool. "No one saw Daniel Jackson do anything."

"Okay, but who else could it have been? He was closest."

"Jack!" Daniel shouted. "It’s been twelve years and you still never listen to me!"

"Keep it calm, guys," Cassie warned. "Remember your adult ages? It’s was only a couple days ago. Can you try to act as grownup as possible?"

Someone new spoke from behind them. "Finally, a voice of reason."

Cassie craned her head to see Carolyn Lam, the SGC’s Chief Medical Officer. She apparently spoke of Cassie, but stood with arms crossed, glaring at High Chancellor Anise.

"Yes," Carolyn continued, still addressing Anise, "their four-year-old brains are at a very emotional and underdeveloped stage. But if we promote and encourage mature behavior, I believe they will rise to the challenge."

The High Chancellor shook her head, clearly unimpressed. "Freedom of expression is at the core of all Tau’ri childcare philosophy."

Cameron, who’d put his tunic on backwards, stamped his foot. "I’m not emotional!"

Peeking under her own tunic, Vala admitted mournfully, "But we *are* a little underdeveloped."

Carolyn gave an exasperated head-shake at the Chancellor and crouched down beside Cassie. "Hi, Cassandra," she said softly, patting the younger woman on the back. "Keep it up, maybe they’ll listen to you."

Cassie took a deep breath, her numb mind only just now starting to understand the full ramifications of this situation. She was being asked to take charge of the people who had raised her, to bring discipline to those who were her elders up until, well, as far as she had been aware, a few minutes ago. For her own part, she was already starting to differentiate them from their older selves in her mind, but would they really listen to her? Or would they still perceive her as the one needing supervision?

"Okay," Cassie began carefully. "So maybe Daniel did something—" Five kids nodded as the sixth muttered "Didn’t." "—and maybe he didn’t—" Five kids scowled as the sixth gave a beaming nod. "—regardless, can anyone explain to me the atrocious behavior I witnessed in this room not five minutes ago?"

Jack had the grace to look abashed as Daniel answered promptly, "Jack wouldn’t stop throwing blobbies at me."

"I only threw a couple."

"Twenty-seven, Jack. I counted."

"Geek," Jack muttered. Then louder he said grudgingly, "All right, I’m sorry. Happy?"

Daniel shrugged.

"Okay," Cassie said. "Now, Daniel, please apologize to Jack."

"What for?"

"For hitting him."

"Why? I’m not sorry. He deserved it."

"What!?" Jack shouted. He looked pointedly to Jon.

"Daniel…" Jon began in a frustrated growl.

"Hush," Cassie said, throwing her boyfriend a warning look. Yes, Daniel was in the wrong, but Cassie didn’t want Jon to get in the habit of always being his DNA-donor’s champion. "Daniel, sweetheart," she said, the endearment just naturally rolling from her tongue, "I know you’re still mad because the others think you activated the device, but this is different. Did you really mean to hit Jack so hard he bled?"

Scuffing his little sandaled feet on the soft floor, Daniel admitted, "…No."

"I know it’s not fun to get bopped with 27 blobbies, but Jack said he was sorry."

The blond brows were still pulled in a stubborn frown.

"Hey, it’s okay to be mad that he was mean, it’s okay to be frustrated that you’re being blamed for something you don’t feel is your fault, but it’s *not* okay to hit anyone, much less your best friend. Do you think you could apologize for hitting him?"

Daniel peered hesitantly at Jack, who stood trying to look casual. "…Okay. I’m sorry, Jack."

Jack shrugged. "Okay."

"No more mean blobbies, okay, guys? Fun blobbies, yes. Mean blobbies, no."

Jon beamed down at her. "Wow, your first edict as Mistress of Public Policy." He intoned in a deep voice, "‘No More Mean Blobbies.’"

"Can it, Mr. English Arts Associate."

"Associate of Arts in English?" Jack asked. "*Again*?"

"You can it, too, squirt," Jon ground out to his mini-counterpart.

Daniel squirmed out of Cassie’s grip and tentatively rejoined his team. At Cameron’s direction, they spread out, gathering the grey goo from Sam’s gutted blobby, and piling it into a disgustingly wiggly puddle.

Her brows set in a haughty arch, Anise announced, "Ms. Frasier and Mr. Coventry, the two of you may continue to…*bond* with the children. Tomorrow I will convene a conference to discuss their future and you will be sent for accordingly." She turned and swept out of the nursery, the bemused NID officer, Morrison, and his two civilians leaving with her.

"Good riddance," both Jon and Carolyn muttered simultaneously.

A twinkle in his eye, Jon turned to the doctor and said, "I don’t know you, but I like you."

Carolyn returned a tentative smile. "So we haven’t met? You look familiar…"

Cassie said, "Carolyn, this is Jon. He’s the result of the Asgard Loki’s interference a few years ago…?" For Jon’s sake, Cassie tried to avoid the use of the word ‘clone.’

"Ah, no wonder you look familiar. I’m pleased to meet you, Jon." The firmness of her handshake showed the medical woman had no prejudice against the idea of a clone being a person in his own right.

The three adults stood in silence a moment, watching the pint-sized SG-1 team members interact. Jack was trying to get the gelatinous goo to stack, a hopeless endeavor, and Daniel had sidled up beside him, bumping shoulders as he scooped up the little general’s dripped gunk. Jack scooted over, letting Daniel work with him without comment. Then Cameron bounced with sudden excitement. "Hey, ‘tend like it’s C-4 and we’re trying to blow up a Goa’uld temple!"

Daniel shook his head. "No, don’t blow up a temple."

Rolling his eyes, Cameron amended, "Okay, a mothership, then."

"I will build a wall of stools to represent the mothership," Teal’c announced, his childlike enthusiasm belied by his formal speech.

"We need a fuse," Jack said.

"Got it." Sam held up a long, thin rope.

"Destructive little buggers, aren’t they?" Jon mused quietly to his two companions.

 

"Where’d you get that?" Cameron asked Sam, his eyes wide.

Voice dripping with disdain, Vala said, "While you dumb boys were having a blobby fight, me and Sam were *making things.*"

"You mean *Sam* made stuff while you annoyed her," Cameron claimed, placing a sequence of goop-piles at the base of the line of stools Teal’c set out.

Before Vala could respond, Sam launched into a rapid-fire speech: "I took a blobby and I had to use my teeth to work a seam loose because *some* people—" she cocked her head at the reflective glass wall and the Tok’ra they knew to be sitting beyond it, "wouldn’t give me *real* tools to use and so I pulled the material apart and it’s really fibrous and Vala and me twisted it into a kind of a rope and I couldn’t get it as tight as I wanted to, but I guess it’s good enough and I want to test it by hanging it up somewhere high and trying to climb on it and I think *some* people will probably let me if I tell them I’m trying to express my creativity."

"Don’t count on it, little sister," Carolyn said, in the same low tone as Jon.

Cassie smiled at the bundle of energy whom she considered to be her aunt. "I think we were warned about the chattering."

"So, doc," Jon said, "Lou said you think this is permanent?"

Lou Ferretti, as well as the rest of SG-2, were currently helping Teal’c build the ‘mothership,’ laying higher levels of stools on Teal’c’s base to form a huge pyramid.

Carolyn sighed. "Unless someone can fix the device or pull a new one out of their sleeves, SG-1 and General O’Neill are as much four-year-old children as they were the first time around. Teal’c’s case is the most striking: he lost his tattoo, and his pouch is in its pre-prim’ta stage. If not for their adult memories, there wouldn’t be a single thing to differentiate them from any other four-year-olds."

"It seemed like you and the Chancellor were continuing a previous argument…?" Cassie prompted.

The sigh was frustrated this time. "That…*woman,* and her sound-bite childrearing ideas. Yes, physically and emotionally they’re preschoolers, but they have their adult memories. Civilized behavior can and should be promoted, especially considering their background and training."

Carolyn nodded significantly at the little commandos, who had laid the ‘fuse’ along the planted ‘C-4,’ shouted, "Three, two, one…" and with various explosive sounds, rushed the ‘mothership’ wall, bringing the soft stools bouncing down around them as they cheered in triumph.

SG-2 clapped appreciatively, but Carolyn frowned, cocking her head at the kids. "Imagine if they ever got their hands on something truly dangerous…"

Jon raised his brows. "Ouch?" he ventured.

"Yeeeah," Carolyn agreed with sarcasm worthy of her father, Hank Landry. Then she straightened up. "I have to go check in back at the ‘gate. Can you two hold down the fort here?"

At Cassie and Jon’s assurance, Carolyn set off, going out a door along the back wall that they hadn’t noticed before.

Then the unwelcome sound of Sam’s bossy big sister voice came floating over. "Well, we could do a lot of things, *Daniel,*" she was saying, apparently responding to something Daniel had said, "if a certain *something* hadn’t been touched."

"Oy. Not this again," Jon muttered.

This question needed to be settled, Cassie decided. She couldn’t stand to see her ‘family’ fighting like this, children or not. Maybe it was time to throw the ball, or blobby as the case may be, back into the Tok’ra’s court. Before the red-faced Daniel could reply, Cassie rushed over to say, "Hey! So, did the Tok’ra ask you guys for advice after the device went off? After all, Sam, Daniel, you have your adult memories…"

As the two blond children traded nonplused, but thankfully not hostile, looks, Jon winked at Cassie over their heads. "Oh, but do you think adult memories are enough? We need adult *behavior,*" he stressed deliberately.

Teal’c climbed on a stool beside him and nodded solemnly. "Ah, you employee a ‘good cop-bad cop’ strategy. We shall see if it is effective." He crossed his arms and looked expectantly as his fellow teammates.

With an eye-rolling worthy of a four-year-old, Jon patted the little jaffa on the back. "Great call, T. Glad to see some things never change."

"Ooh, ooh! I wanna be a bad cop!" Vala shouted, raising her hand.

"No, dummy," Cameron said. "It’s an interot—intega—intager—"

"Right," Jon said, placing his hand on the struggling Cameron’s head. "It’s an interrogation technique that doesn’t really need to be used on you guys because you’re all smart enough to watch your behavior."

This heavy-handed pronouncement was greeted with a variety of unenthusiastic frowns, and, ignoring his clone, Jack declared, "Cassie’s right. Enough playing around like we really are kids. SG-1 needs to conduct its own investigation. C’mon, let’s go!"

He started off for the same back door Carolyn had left by when Lou Ferretti intercepted him. "Whoa, there, buddy. You know you can’t go wandering off without a Tok’ra watchdog."

"Ferretti, I’m a general. You hafta do what I tell you."

Ferretti straightened to parade attention and barked out, "Sir! It is with great regret that I must inform you that I am no longer able to obey your command, sir! On account of you are only three feet tall, sir!"

Jack glared, flipping him off. Or at least he tried to. His four-year-old fingers wouldn’t cooperate.

"Sir! Have you considered the Vulcan peace sign, sir!" Ferretti continued to bark.

Starting to giggle, Jack tugged and pried at his obstinate fingers, Ferretti hunkering down to help him. When the boy’s hand was in the proper Vulcan configuration, Ferretti returned the salute.

"Live long and prosper, General Jack," the colonel said with a grin.

Using his left hand to hold the middle and ring fingers of his right hand apart, Jack rushed over to Daniel. "Hey, Danny! ‘Member when we came back to Abydos? ‘Greetings from Planet Earth, Dr. Jackson!’"

Daniel laughed, and soon the two of them were tearing around, slipping on the grey goo, loudly proclaiming themselves to be Vulcans. They ended up at the opaque glass wall, jumping up and down and shrieking at the unseen Tok’ra in the bleachers, "Greetings from Planet Earth, Snakeheads!"

Cassie watched her two favorite uncles with a shaky sigh. Jack and Daniel’s friendship was the stuff of SGC legend and she would do almost anything to see that nothing derailed it. Certainly nothing as unimportant as an inconvenient little de-aging incident…

Jon put an arm around her shoulders. "Some inappropriate behavior is less inappropriate than others, eh?"

The smile she returned must have shown more than she intended because Jon gave her cheek a brief stroke. "Hey, don’t worry about them. The number of times I remember wanting to punch Daniel is probably second only to the number of times Daniel wanted to punch me. Or Jack, as the case may be."

"I’m just glad they’re friends again," she said softly.

"They were *always* friends," he assured her. "And they will always *be* friends. Despite appearances." He chuckled. "And I guarantee Jack’ll say something annoying before five minutes have gone by."

"Now if we can just get Sam and Daniel on the same wavelength…" Cassie looked over to where Sam talked with Cameron and Vala, probably explaining who Jon was to judge by the way she was pointing at him.

"Let me take a turn," Jon said.

When Daniel grew bored with ‘snake-baiting,’ Jon motioned him over, sitting down on the floor with him. "Daniel, let’s see if we can talk this through a little without resorting to blobbies. Okay, we know you didn’t do anything on purpose, but maybe it was just that you were closest to the doohickey."

Daniel shook his head. "The Tok’ra were around it for days."

"Uh, well, maybe it’s because you have no symbiote?"

"Sam looked at it first."

"And Sam…has naquada in her blood!" Jon voice rose as his excitement grew. "Maybe it was, like, a guarding mechanism, and it goes off if anyone without a symbiote or naquada comes close. It protects Ba’al from human intruders, but doesn’t kill them. It reduces them to children so they’re harmless and available for questioning. So you set it off, because you were the first person without naquada to approach it!"

Sam and the others had gathered around at this point, and Jon looked around, proud of his flawless reasoning.

"Huh, cool theory, Jon," Daniel said.

"Wow, maybe this science geek stuff isn’t so hard after all," Jon said with a satisfied smirk.

"Yeah, it’s a cool theory," Daniel continued. "It’s wrong, of course, but it’s a good try."

"Wrong? How do you know?"

"The energy beam thingy didn’t come from the device," Daniel stated. "Duh, I was looking right at it."

As Jon frowned, insulted, Sam gave a very adult sigh. "Daniel," she said, "why can’t you just admit—"

"So, let’s go ask Ba’al’s host," Daniel demanded, his arms wrapped defensively around himself. "He must know."

"His name’s Josiah," Vala clarified. "And he’s very nice."

Cassie and Jon looked at each other, brows raised. "Not a bad idea," Cassie said. "Has anyone thought of that?" she asked Lou.

Ferretti shrugged. "I don’t think so, but then the High Chancellor doesn’t really keep me posted."

"And I still need to look at that device," Sam said. "How else can I make us big again?"

"Okay," Jon said. "So how about we pay a visit to the host after we look at the device. Bet that’s where those NID guys went anyhow."

"NID?" Jack shouted. "What’re those assholes doing here?"

"Jack, watch it," Daniel warned, nudging his friend’s shoulder. "We have to at least *act* grownup or they won’t let us do anything."

"Oh…right," Jack allowed grudgingly.

"Not that you ever acted grownup before, of course," Daniel amended.

Ferretti smiled down at the glaring Jack, adding, "And you have to wait for Brigara."

All the children groaned and Jack went so far as to clutch his head in his hands. "Not Nanny-zilla!" he moaned.

As if on cue a statuesque Tok’ra woman walked in. Her dress, long and flowing enough to brush along the floor behind her, was a sedate brown, her serious eyes the same shade, and while she didn’t smile, she had that air of unflappable serenity that emanates from people who do dangerous things for a living, such as demolition experts or preschool teachers.

She immediately moved to greet the six children, touching each lightly on the head in turn, stating their names in a calm and deliberate voice. "Young Vala MalDoran, young Daniel Jackson, young Samantha Carter, young Cameron Mitchell…"

These four tolerated her, with Daniel and Vala actually responding, "Hello, Brigara."

Jack and Teal’c, however, stood with rigid disapproval, and Cassie and Jon had to work hard to stifle laughter at the size of the pouts produced by the conclusion of the Tok’ra’s ritual: "…young Jack O’Neill, young Teal’c."

The woman then moved over to Cassie and Jon, saying, "And you must be the young Tau’ri lovers the High Chancellor brought back through the chappa’ai."

Jon grinned happily at the description as Cassie avoided his eyes with a blush, answering, "Um, yes, I guess we must be…"

"I am Brigara, and my symbiote is Lise." After Cassie introduced herself and Jon, the woman continued, "It is my honor to have been chosen as nanny to these children." She turned to view her charges. "Aren’t they lovely?" she asked, her expression of delight returned by six sullen scowls. "So uninhibited… Of course even Tau’ri adults are uninhibited by Tok’ra standards, but now… Their range of actions is truly unpredictable," she concluded with a satisfied nod.

Jack stomped up to her and announced loudly, "We wanna go see that stupid device and meet Ba’al’s host."

She didn’t bat an eye. "Of course. Are we ready to leave now?"

"Yes."

"Have we finished our nap-taking-time and our food-eating-time?"

Cassie wondered if she’d been reading the same childcare books Anise had.

Jack rolled his eyes and groaned. "Yeah, yeah. We rested and ate. Can we go now?"

"First your rough-play damage must be repaired, young Jack O’Neill."

Jack touched his fat lip as if just remembering it. "It’s no big deal," he said.

"Do you have some ice?" Cassie asked.

Brigara stared at her, uncomprehending.

"Or…something…?" Did the Tok’ra even have refrigerators?

"I will heal the child," the nanny explained, pulling a hand device out of a fold in her voluminous gown.

There was a collective shuddering as various nasty brushes with the Goa’uld and their ribbon devices ran through everyone’s mind except Cassie’s. Cassie had been lucky enough to have never encountered one before and when Jack took a frightened step back from Brigara, Cassie knelt beside him, laying her hands on his shoulders.

"I’ve never seen one of those healing things before," Cassie said brightly. "But Sam’s used one. Right, Sam?"

"Uh…" The little girl shook herself. "Yeah, of course."

"I don’t need it," Jack stated.

"Wounds from rough-play are appropriate, young Jack O’Neill," Brigara said, "but healing must follow."

Daniel came up to stand beside his friend, blue eyes large with remorse. "I’m sorry, Jack," he said.

Jack straightened shoulders soft with baby fat. "It’s okay, I’ve had worse."

Brigara slipped the assembly on her hand and knelt down in front of Jack. Placing her free hand on his upper arm to steady him, she passed the glowing jewel in the center of her palm over the boy’s lower lip. In an instant the split skin had rejoined to form a barely perceptible pink line and the swelling disappeared.

The nanny returned the device to her pocket, Jack still standing unaware, eyes screwed dramatically closed against nonexistent pain.

"Uh, Jack?" Daniel said, sharing a smile with Cassie. "It’s over."

"What? Oh, yeah. See, no big deal."

"Very impressive, O’Neill," Teal’c remarked with a dryness not normally associated with four year old children.

Brigara clasped her hands together. "Very well. Then after a visit is paid to the elimination room, we may take our leave."

"Ugh!" Jack stomped away growling, "Freakin’ weirdo snakeheads." He shouted back at her, "It’s called a ‘bathroom!’"

The children trooped through a door to the right of what Cassie had privately designated as the ‘back door’ of the nursery. As the adults went out the back door itself, Brigara explained the layout of the ‘Children’s Environs’ as she called it. The door led to a short, wide hallway. On the right side were three doors. The first was the ‘elimination’ room, which connected with the nursery on one side and the children’s sleeping chamber on the other, as well as the hallway. Further down the hallway from the children’s sleeping chamber were Brigara’s quarters, both sleeping rooms connecting with the hallway as well as each other.

Across the hall was another door, to which the nanny gestured. "This will be your private chamber," she proclaimed, taking it as a given that they would be sleeping together.

Jon shrugged at Cassie’s moue, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "When in Egerush, do as the Egerusians do."

Lou Ferretti joined them and started to say that he’d sent his team back to the stargate, when SG-1 exited the bathroom with loud whoops, flicking water from their wet hands at each other, apparently having decided that simply wiping the water off was just too boring. They seemed so much like regular little children as they shrieked and giggled that Cassie was startled when Vala suddenly snapped, "Stop it, Daniel! You’ll smear my lipstick!" after one especially close-quarters attack. Cassie did a double take, but couldn’t tell if the girl’s lips were naturally ruddy or not. Trust Vala to try to vamp it up as a preschooler.

Then the little brunette grabbed Sam and ran up to Cassie. "We’re walking with Cassie!" she declared.

Jack, Teal’c and Cameron, who were near Jon, clustered closer, Jack shouting, "We’re with Jon!" He looked challengingly at Daniel.

Daniel refused to be baited and merely grabbed Lou’s hand, sticking his tongue out at Jack. "I got a colonel. You only got a civilian."

"Hey!" Jon protested. "Who you calling civilian, civilian?"

"Aw, c’mon, Daniel," Jack said, running back over to him. "You know I was only teasing."

"Yeah, I know."

"Time to proceed, children," Brigara called out. She stood at the other end of the hallway, ready to open the door there and immediately all the children rushed together as a group, ignoring the adults behind them and the marching order they’d just arrived at.

Ferretti grinned at the defection of Daniel, then said to Cassie and Jon, "Well, since I’m no longer a status symbol, I think I’ll follow Dr. Lam’s example and check in with the SGC. Should I tell the general you’ll be in touch some time this evening?"

"Please," Cassie said.

As Lou exited back toward the nursery, Jon clapped his hands together. "Okay, munchkins!" he shouted. "Off to see the wizard?"

"Yeah!"

Laughing, Cassie and Jon rushed to keep up with the six dynamos charging down the hallway and through the open doorway in front of them.


	3. Chapter 3

SG-1’s progress down the cavernous Tok’ra hallway slowed to a crawl after an initial spurt that saw them overtake their sedate nanny. From that point on, they only sped up if one of the three adults trailing them threatened to pull ahead. Otherwise they ranged out, investigating the ornate, cave-like walls of the building and whispering among themselves.

Cassie wondered if the Tok’ra had tried to reconstruct the caverns they’d hidden in for so many centuries: the purplish-blue walls were thick and rugged and had an embedded hexagonal pattern, even the smooth floors showing the same mottled motif. It was like walking through a termite mound.

"These hallways look a lot like the old Tok’ra tunnels," Jon remarked.

"Yes," Brigara agreed. "Our engineers modified the tunnel-forming crystals to build upwards, triggering certain matrixes as they grew."

With their random nooks and outcroppings, the three-dimensional walls seemed to fascinate the six children. Nothing was too small to investigate, peer into, scratch at, poke, prod or kick. Sam picked at one especially prominent hex-form, frowning as she muttered, "I wish I could chip a piece off…" She glanced up as the adults approached and scampered off immediately to rejoin her teammates.

The newly-minted children also knocked on every door the group encountered. When the people in the rooms responded, SG-1 ran away laughing, leaving the Tok’ra staring in indulgent, if flabbergasted, fascination.

"How interesting," Brigara said. "Who knew doors could be an object of play?"

"You don’t play with your doors?" Jon inquired with mock concern.

"Doors are a new addition to our society," the nanny explained.

"Oh, that’s right," Jon said with renewed interest. "I don’t recall doors from Jack’s memories."

Cassie looked closer and realized most of the hallway’s doors already stood propped open, while others swung freely without knobs or obvious locks.

"High Chancellor Anise is working to bring the Tok’ra into accordance with other human and humanoid societies," Brigara continued. "Locks, however, are still rare, only being used for a few dangerous places such as science or engineering laboratories."

They passed two puzzled Tok’ra who stood at their door looking after the retreating backs of the giggling children. "Knocking with no intention of interacting with the occupants," one said to the other in a thoughtful tone. "Is this something children do?"

Cassie and Jon shared a grin as the young man remarked, "Sure wish the Sisters at Our Mother of Perpetual Sorrows primary school were as tolerant as these Tok’ra."

As they progressed, the group picked up a small retinue of trailing Tok’ra. This entourage kept a cautious distance, but seemed irresistibly attracted to the children.

"They do seem to be taking this whole ‘Children of the Tok’ra’ thing seriously," Cassie said. She turned to the nanny walking beside her. "Um, Brigara…"

"Yes, Ms. Fraiser?"

It seemed rude to address the dignified woman so informally, so Cassie said, "Please call me Cassie. And call Jon, um, Jon," she finished lamely.

"Certainly, Cassie," Brigara said with a nod.

"Well, I want to thank you for taking care of SG-1 like this. They’re all incredibly important. And not just to the SGC, but to me personally. They’re all the family I have."

The woman smiled. "It is an honor. One in which I hope to continue for some time."

Cassie glanced at Jon. He raised his brows blandly. Again, he was letting her take the lead. She turned back to the Tok’ra woman. "So you see them as staying here in Egerush for the long term?"

"Oh, I hope so, yes," Brigara said, and her enthusiasm sounded honest. Then she glanced around, her calm mien faltering for the first time. "Caring for these children is not merely an assigned task, of course. I take great pleasure in this work. But still, I must admit I have a bit of an…an ulterior purpose."

"Oh?"

"Being exposed to young ones like this, it has…well…" She looked more uncomfortable than ever, flushing slightly. "We, Lise and I, we, well…" She checked around once again. "We are seriously considering conceiving…and birthing of course, a—a baby." This last came in almost a whisper.

Cassie blinked. "Oh. Um, wow…"

Jon stared at the nanny. "Uh, congratulations?"

"Yes, yes, congratulations," Cassie agreed.

The nanny nodded, pleased at their reactions.

They strolled in silence for a few yards, then Cassie finally asked, "Uh, when?"

"Oh, soon. A decade, I should think."

"…A decade."

Brigara seemed to listen to something internally. "Or two," she amended. "Yes, a decade or two."

"Well, don’t rush into anything," Jon said.

Brigara looked alarmed. "Do you think we should wait longer?"

"No, no! I—crap!"

"Lise maintains a century’s wait is reasonable under the circumstances, but I had been hoping to convince her of a speedier timeline."

"No! I mean, speedier is good!"

"Jon was teasing," Cassie said, taking pity on her flailing boyfriend. "We both think you’re quite capable raising a baby. Even right now."

Brigara became if possible even more alarmed. "Oh, no. Now? No, no, no." She shook her head firmly. She leaned closer and said as if in confidence, "I’m the brave one, you know." She gave a small smile. "Dounia and Mede volunteered for a sweep of the last Lucian Alliance holdouts rather than face these children."

"May I ask, Brigara," Cassie began, "um, I hope it’s not considered rude, but I’ve noticed today that it’s usually the symbiote who takes the lead with Tok’ra. But not in your case?"

The blended woman’s eyes lost their focus for a moment as she again held some internal dialogue. Then with a smile Brigara’s dignity returned and she said, "My dear Lise has braved many hundreds of years of dangers, but for this task she has conceded her limits."

The adults caught up with SG-1 to find the kids clustered around a large heavy-looking door.

"This is the lab!" Sam declared, knocking on the locked door for good measure. "You said we could go in here and try and fix the device."

Cassie raised her brows. "I don’t think that’s exactly what I said, but…" She looked to Brigara and asked, "It is safe for them to go in and see what progress is being made, isn’t it?"

"If any," Jon muttered for Cassie’s ears only.

"Yes, indeed. The children must be encouraged to explore." Brigara led the way, opening the door by passing the jewel of her hand device over a panel on one side, and ushering the group in.

They entered a large antechamber, one wall of which contained a window viewing into the laboratory itself. The six kids ran to the window, standing on tiptoes to see in, fingers and noses pressed to the glass.

Standing behind them, Cassie and Jon looked in too. In addition to a few Tok’ra were Dr. Bill Lee and an assistant from the SGC as well as the two civilian NID scientists Colonel Morrison had brought in. Morrison himself stood off to one side, looking bored as he leaded against a wall, arms crossed. Most of the scientists clustered around one table, the rest monitored a console.

One of the Tok’ra in the lab saw them immediately and came out. He was an older man with graying hair and had an uncharacteristically wide smile for a Tok’ra. He ignored Cassie, Jon and Brigara, and went straight to SG-1, speaking with the reverberating voice of a Tok’ra symbiote. "Children! To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Unlike the reticence of the other Tok’ra, he seemed not only pleased to see them, but eager to interact.

Jack, Teal’c and Cameron eyed him suspiciously, but Sam piped up without hesitation. "Hi, Radin. We want to look at that device again."

"Which device?"

There was a long silence as everyone stared at the man, dumbfounded. Cassie would never have pegged a Tok’ra as the teasing kind, but could this man really be that dense?

Daniel spoke up. "Um, the device that supposedly made us little?"

Radin’s smile didn’t flag, but he shook his head. "That is merely slag at this point, although the others there," he nodded at the lab, "are not yet ready to admit this. I will let your own Dr. Lee speak to you."

He went back into the lab as the children exchanged looks.

"Just when I think the snake-heads can’t get any weirder…" Jack said.

There was a knock at the window. A bemused Bill Lee stood there looking down at SG-1. "Hey, guys," he said, speaking through some kind of microphone embedded in the glass.

"Hi, Bill," Daniel said. "Have you guys figured out what that thing is?"

"Um, well, in word, no." Bill pointed at the table behind him and they could see the object laying there now, several wires and probes attached. Radin wasn’t exaggerating. It looked like nothing more than a melted lump of metal. "We’re doing our best, but we can’t even figure out what it is, or more precisely, was, much less how it did what it supposedly did, much less how to get it to reverse it."

"Jon thinks it’s a security device that protected Ba’al and was set up to zap all non-Goa’uld, non-jaffa, non-naquadah-in-the-blood type intruders."

Bill glanced up at Jon, his bemusement growing by the minute. "Oh, hi there," he said vaguely.

Jon waved at him. "Cool theory, huh?" he said hopefully.

"Interesting, yes. Wrong, of course, but still, interesting."

Jon crossed his arms, pouting. "You guys are just prejudiced because I’m not a scientist."

As Cassie patted Jon’s shoulder consolingly, Sam said, "But, Bill, no one’s figured out how it works at all?"

Dr. Lee spread his hands helplessly. "Sam, if I hadn’t seen the video recording, I wouldn’t have believe it had anything to do with your shrinkage at all. Melted or not, there’s no sign of anything sophisticated enough to support some kind of—of de-aging mechanism, or generate the kind of energy that that would require." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Maybe, I don’t know…maybe there was magic of some kind involved…?"

Daniel, who knew the eccentric scientist the best, grinned at this, while Sam, following Jon’s example, crossed her arms and pouted. "Let me see the recording," she demanded.

Radin, who had come back out into the antechamber, nodded. "Of course, young Samantha. Come to the console here."

He led the way to a station off to one side of the window. Jack glared at Dr. Lee before he left the window. "Not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about the brain trust we got working for us here."

Bill shrugged.

Before she joined the others at the console, Cassie said, "Hey, Bill. Growing your ponytail out again?"

Bill touched his hair, pleased. "Yeah. Thanks, Cass." Then he turned back to the inner laboratory.

Jon leaned down to whisper into Cassie’s ear, "Noticed you didn’t say it looked *good*…"

Cassie giggled quietly, then sobered as the screen Radin accessed blinked to life. She and Jon leaned over the heads of the kids, watching the images of the very laboratory in the next room and the adult SG-1 of two days ago. Ushered in by Radin himself, the team fanned out, peering at equipment. Radin could be heard pointing out the device, his voice mostly drowned out by Jack’s loud complaints of boredom and insistence that his lunch suggestion was a limited time offer.

The diminutive Cameron of the here-and-now glanced at Jack. "Jeez, general," he said.

"Well, I was hungry," Jack stated as if this should obviously excuse any and all behavior issues.

On the screen, Sam could be seen leaning down to peer at the cube-shaped device. As Daniel joined her, she said something inaudible, then straightened and turned, beginning to speak, then stopping to look around the room. She moved away from the table as Daniel moved closer.

"Okay, okay! Now watch," little Daniel directed.

On the screen, old-school Daniel stepped between the camera, or whatever the Tok’ra equivalent was, and the device, leaning over it. His arm could be seen moving, although with his body blocking the view, Cassie couldn’t say for certain whether he touched anything.

"See! I didn’t touch it," Daniel said.

"See what?" Jack countered. "Your butt was in the way."

Then the image suddenly dimmed, like darkness falling, fuzzing out with a static-like interference. When it cleared about ten seconds later, the mysterious device was smoldering and the lab’s six occupants were down. Down and down-sized: six bewildered preschoolers sat up in clothing way too big for them, blinking.

Cassie looked down at the children, worried that seeing this might upset them. She should’ve known better.

Cameron pointed at the screen, shouting, "Ha! Look at Vala’s face!"

"Look at your own face," Vala countered. "You look like you just swallowed your dog-tags."

"Jack, you’re flapping your sleeves like you’re trying to fly," Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, well, look at you trying to get your glasses to stay up," Jack said.

Teal’c smiled. "Samantha’s attempt to walk with pants many inches too long is somewhat humorous."

"I wouldn’t talk, Teal’c," Sam snipped. "It looks like you’re checking the floor to see where your tattoo fell off."

Soon they were all giggling and pointing, this life-changing and potentially traumatic event reduced to slapstick by SG-1’s innate sense of proportion and self-preservation. Jon, proving himself to be nothing but an overgrown child, as if there was any doubt, laughed louder than anyone at the sight of Jack holding up his pants and stomping on his cap, demanding in a childish howl to know "Just what the hell happened here, goddamn it?!"

This had even Jack laughing and Cassie, smothering her own giggles, raised her voice to ask Radin, "Is there anything else of scientific worth on this recording, or is it all the Six Stooges from now on?"

Vala jumped up and down in delight. "Oh, I know that one! Teal’c showed me the Three Stooges! I bet we could sell this and make a bunch of money!"

Jon gave a playful tug at one pigtail. "Might have too limited a run to generate much cash, there, Vala."

Radin switched the recording off and smile benignly down at SG-1. "All images of these little ones are of great worth, but perhaps not of scientific or monetary value."

Giggles fading, Sam began to frown. "That didn’t really help all that much."

"Well, it shows that no zappy-let’s-make-SG-1-babies ray came out of that thing," Daniel said.

"Yeah, maybe…"

"Hey, look!" Cameron suddenly said, pointing behind them. "There’s Ba’al!"

Everyone turned.

Sure enough, in the most shadowy section of the room stood the former System Lord host, his hands pressed flat against the wall at his back as if he meant to dash away at the least provocation, his face tipped down, watching them with dark eyes that glittered black in the dim light. He held himself as still as a wild animal at bay and Cassie wondered if he had been standing there the whole time.

Beside her, she felt Jon stiffen. She glanced at him, surprised to see a shuttered look on his face. Then she remembered what had happened to Jack O’Neill while prisoner of Ba’al. The torture her mother had only hinted at may not have been inflicted on Jon’s actual body, but the memories were just as vivid, she was sure. She took his hand and he flicked his gaze to her.

Vala heaved a loud and dramatic sigh. "I already *told* you. He’s not *Ba’al,* he’s *Josiah.*"

"Okay, okay. Ex-Ba’al," Cameron conceded.

Vala ran over to the former host, followed closely by the rest of the children, Cassie trailing and pulling a reluctant Jon.

"My love," Cassie whispered, "Ba’al is dead. Let those memories die with him."

Jon drew a breath, then nodded with a jerk, life beginning to return to his eyes.

At the children’s approach, Josiah had stiffened much like Jon, but Vala knew nothing of personal space. She grabbed his hand, jumping up and down in front of him, pigtails flapping as the man’s arm involuntarily pumped along with her.

"Do you recognize me? I’m Vala! Remember when we talked after the extraction?"

He was still stiff as a board, but Josiah lowered his head in what might have been a nod and didn’t withdraw his hand.

Vala stopped jumping. "Did you hear what happened to us? We’re kids now! It was really weird."

His voice almost too quiet to be heard, Josiah said, "Yes."

The other five children crowding around, Daniel said, "It must be weird for you too. Do you remember everything? From before? From when Ba’al had you?"

"Plus, you’re a clone, so that just makes it weirder, I bet," Jack said, matter-of-factly.

Cassie saw the ex-host’s eyes were red-rimmed and his formerly neat goatee had become lost in an unshaven face. He seemed to be having trouble meeting people’s eyes, his face remaining downcast. She remembered Anise mentioning something about ‘decades of infestation’ and wondered just how long this man’s nightmare had lasted.

Vala spoke up again. "See that man?" she asked Josiah, pointing at Jon. Josiah peered quickly before dropping his eyes again.

"He’s a clone, too. Just like you. And you know I used to host Qetesh. So never forget, you’re not alone. You’re not unique." She frowned. "Well, you’re unique in a good way, of course, ‘cause no one’s exactly like you, but others have gone through what you’re going through now. We can help you figure it out."

"You could shave, maybe," Cameron offered. "If you didn’t want to look like Ba’al looked."

Vala shook her head. "No," she said stoutly. "Josiah’s a good looking man and the beard suits him. He’s got nothing to be ashamed of and he shouldn’t try to hide. There’s no reason to change just ‘cause of Ba’al."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "Anyhow, you don’t look like Ba’al."

This caught the ex-host’s attention, and his eyes flicked to Daniel in surprise before dropping again.

"He’s right," Sam said, seemingly as surprised as Josiah. "You look completely different."

"Ba’al used your body like a costume, but his true spirit showed through," Daniel stated.

Jack looked over what appeared to be the man who, six years ago, had tortured him literally to death, then gave a nod of approval. "Yep. There’s nothing of him left at all. He’s all gone," he announced with finality.

With a soft gasp Josiah stared at Jack, then his face slowly crumpled, tears flowing freely. He slid down the wall, arms loose at his sides.

Vala didn’t hesitate, but crawled into his lap, throwing her entire body into a tight hug. Within moments, he returned the embrace desperately, beginning to sob into her thick hair. The other children clustered closer, Daniel and Cameron joining Vala in a group hug, Sam and even Jack and Teal’c patting consolingly at whatever part of the shuddering man they could reach.

Cassie blinked hard to hold back tears. Jon wrapped an arm around her waist, his eyes suspiciously bright and his smile gentle. Cassie found herself thanking any god or deity listening for the blessings in her life, and returned Jon’s hug with a tight squeeze.

Beside them, Radin sighed with deep satisfaction. "Ah, the magic of children. I’ve heard of it, but never had the privilege to see it. Josiah is fortunate these young ones are here to help him." Brigara, standing at his shoulder, nodded in solemn agreement.

When the ex-host’s sobs slowed, Cassie passed a packet of tissues along through Sam. Vala gave Josiah one when he sat back, pulling out and holding the next as the man blew his nose and attempted to pull himself together. SG-1 sat around him, unembarrassed by the show of emotion as only young children can be.

As if making conversation under these circumstances was the most natural thing in the world, Daniel said, "Josiah, can we ask you about one of the things found in Ba’al’s inner chambers? It was this black cube thing, with some symbols on it. One looked like an upwards curving crescent moon cradling a star."

Josiah blew his nose one more time, then clutched the wadded tissues to his chest. "Levanah and mazal?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, that one. And there were representations of lyres and ouds, I think."

Josiah nodded. "Yes. It was…music and lights. For…in the dark…"

"In the dark? You mean, nighttime?"

"Yes, nighttime, yes. To aid sleep."

"So, music and lights, at bedtime. So it was a nightlight then." Daniel cross his arms and looked insufferably smug. "I thought so."

In the stunned silence around them, Josiah blinked. "A nightlight? Yes, a good description," he concluded with a ghost of a smile.

In a strangled voice Jack shouted, "You thought it was a nightlight this whole time?"

"Yeah," Daniel said with a casual shrug. "It had, like, these little hamesh hands for protection against evil and stuff. And there was a stylized Hebrew alefbet, but I think it said, ‘le shalom she tash ki vei ni’ which of course means, ‘in peace let me lie down.’"

"Why didn’t you say so?" Jack demanded.

"Um, let’s see, maybe because I was too busy dodging blobbies?"

"A…really?" Cassie looked at Radin. "A nightlight?"

"Sounds more like a clock-radio to me," Jon mused.

Radin’s satisfied smile grew wider yet. "Ah, young Daniel. I knew you were the person to solve a mystery we cynical and jaded Tok’ra could only grasp at."

"So…but…" Sam flailed her little arms in frustration. "But why did it melt then if it had nothing to do with anything?"

With a delighted grin, Vala said, "Big bad Ba’al needed a nightlight?" She nudged Josiah. "What a loser, huh?"

Josiah’s wan smile seemed a bit stronger this time.

"Josiah, the device—" Sam began, but stopped at a pointed throat clearing from Daniel. "Okay, the *nightlight,* then. Could it have done this to us? Made us younger?"

The disheveled man stared at her. "How could a nightlight make a person younger?" he asked.

As the other kids snickered, Jon said, "It might still have been an anti-intruder thing as well."

Sam looked at him impatiently. "A nightlight-slash-intruder-zapper?"

"Oh! I bet it was a dessert topping and a floor wax, too!" Cameron shouted, and this time everyone but the two Tok’ra laughed, recognizing the classic Saturday Night Live routine. Even Josiah smiled and Cassie had to wonder at Ba’al’s viewing habits during his time on Earth.

Sam threw her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay! I guess us shrinking had nothing to do with it."

Daniel crossed his arms and directed a cool stare at Sam and Jack. "Sure, you believe the guy who’s been driven mad by a parasite for decades, but not me."

"Hey, don’t diss the host!" Vala protested.

Cassie opened her mouth to intervene, but Jon nudged her, shaking his head. Josiah, for his part, didn’t appear insulted, but merely sat looking from child to child, his expression unreadable.

Jack hung his head. "Jeez, Daniel, I already said I was sorry. Can I help it if I’m an asshole?"

"No," Daniel conceded after a struggle to hide a smile. "I guess not."

Climbing up to join Vala in Josiah’s lap, Sam reached out to grab Daniel’s arm. "I know I get a little single-minded when it comes to machines and stuff." With a tentative shrug and smile, she said, "I guess I still need you to help me think outside of the box."

Daniel relented immediately, grinning. "And I still need you to keep me in line when I get a little too far outside the box." Daniel scrambled into a hug, Josiah shifting subtly, but not protesting the three small but very solid little bodies clambering about on his lap.

Rolling his eyes at the show of emotion by his friends, Jack muttered, "Good, I was afraid I’d have to lob a few blobbies at both of you."

"I also apologize for doubting you, Daniel Jackson," Teal’c said, standing stoutly with hands clasped behind his back.

"Yeah, me too," Cameron piped up.

"I never doubted my Daniel," Vala stated.

"Sure you didn’t," Cameron muttered.

Jon was right, Cassie decided, giving the young man a little return nudge of acknowledgment. Unless the ‘discussion’ descended into chaos, the children needed to reach their own equilibrium.

Ending the hug, Sam bounced as she announced, "Plus this fits in with what Bill and Radin said about the nightlight not having enough innards and internal power and stuff."

"Sam? Guys?" Cassie called gently. "I think Josiah might need his legs back."

The ex-host met an adult’s eyes for the first time, his expression grateful, if a little regretful.

"Well, *I’m* light as a feather," Vala insisted. But she nevertheless gave the man a last hug before sliding off along with Sam and Daniel, and helped Josiah regain his feet.

Jack frowned. "So what exactly did we figure out here?"

"Not a great deal, O’Neill," Teal’c said, one little brow raised. "We are, in fact, in a position of retrograde accomplishment, having discounted the one item we thought responsible, and not having a new candidate in its place."

At the six glum expressions, Jon went down on one knee beside Teal’c. "Aw, c’mon, T. Where’s that jaffa ‘can-do’ attitude?"

Dark brows lowered to a scowl on Teal’c’s young face. "I am unaware of any such inherent jaffa attribute, Coventry."

"Okaaay," Cassie said brightly. "So the nightlight didn’t cause this to happen, but maybe it was also affected, hence the melting? That’s some kind of clue, right?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged a look and shrugged. "Yeah," Sam conceded slowly. "It has to be. Maybe something in the frequency of the beam or whatever, reacting with the nightlight…?"

"We’ll figure it out, Teal’c," Daniel said. "Don’t take it out on Jon."

Teal’c’s scowl lifted and he nodded graciously. "Indeed. He is no more irritating than O’Neill himself," he conceded.

"Hey!" Jack and Jon protested together.

Clasping his hands, Radin said, "This is the resilience of youth I’ve heard so much about. Where will your investigation take you next, children?"

At that moment the lab door opened, and they all turned to see one of the two NID scientists come out. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties, with thinning hair and horn-rimmed glasses. Suspenders peeked out from under his stained lab coat, along with a plaid shirt sporting loud purple and green stripes. He walked along with a vague, distracted air, and Cassie couldn’t help but notice his khaki floods exposed mismatched socks, one off-white, the other pale blue.

As he pushed open a side door, pulling a flat, gray metallic object from his pocket, the scientist suddenly registered the other eleven inhabitants of the room staring at him. He stopped in mid-step, the door swinging back shut with a thump as he fumbled to return the metal object to his pocket. He flushed bright red as he adjusted his glasses, blinking as his eyes skittered around the room, finally settling on Radin. "Um, ah, Dr. Radin…"

"Please, Dr. Obernick," Radin said affably, "we’ve been through this. We have no such titles among the Tok’ra."

"Ah, yes, so—so you’ve told me…" Obernick adjusted his glasses again as the silence grew. "So…we’re making a lot of progress."

Radin raised his brows in unconcealed surprise. "Are you?"

"Yes," Obernick confirmed, nodding decisively before suddenly deflating to shake his head. "Well, no, not really…"

Jack crossed his arms, voice dripping with sarcasm as he said, "Oh, we’ll be back to normal in no time."

Obernick looked the young SG-1 over with a cautiously. "Um, yes—yes, of course you will," he said, speaking loud and slow. "I’ll be working long and hard and you’ll be all growed up again in no time."

He nodded to himself, pleased, as the children gazed back at him with expressions ranging from disbelief to hostility.

"Are you for real?" Cameron demanded.

The scientist gulped in confusion, saved from responding when the NID colonel, Morrison, stuck his head out the lab door and regarded Obernick with an unreadable expression. "Doctor? Are you taking a break again?"

"No, no," the civilian denied quickly, clutching at his pocket. "Just needed a breath of fresh air. All finished now, so I’ll just get back to it then, shall I?"

As he sidled back to the lab, Jack said loudly, "Daniel, if you’d ever been that much of a nerd, I’d’ve shot you myself to put you out of your misery."

Daniel nodded philosophically. "On the other hand, I think I used to have a shirt in that same plaid."

"I believe we burned it when you Ascended," Teal’c said with deep satisfaction.

Face flushing red again, Obernick fled into the lab. Giving the children a stiff-faced look, Morrison closed the door behind him.

"C’mon guys," Jon said, letting out a chuckle as he gave Jack a token cuff to the head. "Ol’ doc Uber-nerd’s doing his best to help, here."

"Yeah, well I’d like to ask him what the hell he had in his pocket."

"That will have to wait until tomorrow, young Jack O’Neill," Brigara said, stepping forward decisively. "It is now time for our evening meal."

"Ugh! We’re busy!"

"Of this there can be no discussion. Sustenance must be partaken. Back to the nursery now."

Muttering mutinous obscenities under his breath, Jack geared himself up for what Cassie feared could be a full-blown tantrum when Vala cut him off at the knees.

"I’m starving," she announced.

"Me, too," Daniel said.

Sam shrugged at her ex-CO. "I am too, actually."

"Dibs on anything with cheese in it!" Cameron shouted, running for the exit.

His team dashing away from him, Jack could only follow with an angry stomp, his curses drowned out by their yelled dib-claims, culminating with shrieks of "No fair! That’s everything!" as Daniel claimed "Anything that tastes like chicken!"

Cassie said to Josiah, "Would you like to join us?"

He paused. "No," he said, but there was a tentative quality to his voice.

"Maybe some other time?"

He nodded, glancing at her with a shyness that was the antithesis of Ba’al. "Please."

She smiled with a nod of her own, then turned to Radin, raising her brows in invitation.

The Tok’ra shook his head with regret. "For now, I leave you to enjoy the children. There will be many opportunities for me to benefit from their youthful wisdom in the future."

As the Tau’ri couple left, Cassie wondered if Radin was right in his assumption of SG-1’s long ‘youthful’ future.


	4. Chapter 4

  


By the time Cassie and Jon had caught up with SG-1 they were back in the nursery, literally bouncing off the walls. His anger at the interruption of his investigation a thing of the distant past, Jack had joined a game to see who could throw a blobby the highest against the wall and the five human team members booed and complained as Teal’c consistently scored highest.

Brigara had triggered some mechanism that caused a low, round table to rise out of a recess in the nursery floor near the opaque front wall. Two other Tok’ra came through the glass door with a wheeled cart piled high with covered platters and tureens, mouth-watering steam escaping from around the edges.

With a cheer and the thumping of dropped blobbies, the six preschoolers converged on the cart, shoving at each other as they all tried to help ferry food and plates to the table at the same time. The two Tok’ra backed off, their faces betraying not so much indulgence as alarm at the presence of all that unbridled enthusiasm.

When the Tok’ra’s childrearing philosophy of letting children ‘explore the outside world without restraint’ led to them watch idly while Cameron reached for a humongous tureen of piping hot soup, Jon swooped down. "Hey, big guy! Why don’t you handle the bread board there, and I’ll get this."

With everyone helping they made short work of it, Cassie supervising the setting of the table and Jon hefting the heavy platters, placing them in the center of the table for a family-style meal. Daniel had enough manners to cover for everyone, thanking the two servers profusely as they left the nursery, pronouncing the food to taste like chicken even before the serving ladle had hit his plate.

Soon Brigara excused herself with a nod, and Cassie, Jon and the shrunken SG-1 sat down to a dinner as chaotic as everything else about the flagship team these days.

Cassie and Jon sat opposite each other, possibly at the imaginary head and foot of the table, if a round table could have a head or foot and you could decide which was which. Cassie was short enough to fit on a stool like the children used, but poor Jon had a hard time eating at a table designed for children. Finally the lanky man gave it up and sat cross-legged on the floor.

Cassie knew there must still be an audience of Tok’ra on the bleachers out there, but tried to ignore them and relax. She was hungrier than she realized and dug into the unrecognizable foods spread before her. It was all surprisingly good. The Tok’ra were really going all out, taking their stewardship of these children seriously, skewed childrearing ideas and all.

It didn’t take long for the active preschoolers to get antsy; it seemed merely sitting and eating could not hold their interest no matter how hungry they were. While the two adults sat, trying vainly to serve as calm examples, the children sat, stood, hovered, jumped, and crouched; they fed each other tidbits from their plates, reached across one another for anything that caught their eye, the food inevitably ending up on tunics, table, floor and faces. When a kid got bored with one discussion, he picked up his plate and moved down the table. There was always another stool to pull up, another shouted conversation to join.

"Musical stools," Cassie muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Things would be different in her house, she decided. Nothing draconian of course, not with any child and certainly not with this crew, but a few well chosen rules that she and Jon agreed on—

She paused, shocked. Was she really thinking this, seriously considering it? She and Jon in a house with a white picket fence and a dog and—and six children? Six to begin with…

Cassie shed her fatigue jacket, suddenly hot.

She had always intended to work at Stargate Command, had long dreamed of it. She and Sam had planned on her staying at Sam’s place after graduation to talk things over with General Landry, figure out how she could fit into the SGC hierarchy. Now, though… Could this really work? Did the Powers That Be really intend that she and Jon…?

She looked up at Jon. He was listening to Vala expound with an expression somewhere between disbelief and admiration as the rest of the kids snickered, all but Cameron who pouted something about unauthorized release of classified information. A punch line was reached and the kids broke up laughing and talking over each other. Jon must’ve sensed Cassie’s gaze and he looked up, his smile as warm as his brown eyes. She smiled back despite the sudden pricking at the back of her eyes.

The ever perceptive Daniel chose that moment to ask in a penetrating voice, "Hey, why exactly is Jon here anyway?"

"We came together," Cassie answered without thinking.

"…Together, together?" Daniel asked with a shrewdness in his solemn eyes far beyond his apparent years.

Cassie found herself blushing as Jon winked. "Yes," she admitted.

The solemnity evaporated. "Wow!"

Vala took up the gauntlet, calling, "Sam, Sam! Cassie and Jon are together!"

"Vala…"

"What?!" Sam tossed something that looked like a cross between a chicken drumstick and a broccoli floret back down on her plate, and fixed Cassie with a baleful eye. "Now see here, young lady—"

Vala hopped her butt up and down on her stool. "When’s the wedding? Can I be a flower child?"

"Cassie and—and Mini-Me?" Jack looked back and forth between them in disbelief. "That’s just weird."

Daniel stole the drumstick thing from Sam’s plate. "Like weird is unusual for us?"

"How long has this been going on?" Sam demanded.

"Auntie," Cassie pleaded, feeling guilty despite knowing she shouldn’t. "I wasn’t trying to keep secrets."

"I would like to have been consulted," Sam continued.

"Sam, my heart is not open to consultation," Cassie said firmly.

That shut Sam up for the moment and when Cameron shrugged and said, "If they love each other, what’s the problem?" both Sam and Jack subsided, grumbling, but willing to let it go for the moment.

After they finished eating and the Tok’ra servers had cleared things away, Jon convinced everyone to play some game from Daniel’s travels until bedtime. It was kind of like tag and kind of like keep-away, played with the ever versatile blobbies.

It had been a long and eventful 24 hours and Cassie found herself yawning almost as hard as the four-year-olds before the second round was finished. She wondered if Brigara had been watching because the stately woman swooped down on her charges, herding them off to the ‘elimination room’ and then to their ‘sleeping chamber’ before even Jack could get an objection out.

Brigara again bowed out, letting Cassie and Jon stay to help settle their little friends down for sleep. The bedroom was quite cozy, with no opaque wall, thank god, so Cassie knew there were no prying Tok’ra eyes watching them. There were six soft mattresses set right on the ground, complete with pillows and snug blankets. The only other things in the room were lots of big pillows to sit on, a few low chests for clothes storage and some free standing screens for privacy.

"I don’t want to sleep next to a bunch of annoying *boys,*" Vala protested.

"Who asked you to?" Cameron countered.

Jon held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Lollipop Guild over here," he said pointing at the boys, "and Lullaby League over there," he continued, waving the girls away across the room.

Cassie helped the giggling Vala and Sam drag two mattresses over behind a partition. She got them into some lightweight sleeping gowns and tucked them into bed, then sat cross-legged on a pillow between them. They were just so dang cute, little blonde and brunette heads laying snug on the clean, white pillows. Cassie kissed them both goodnight, brushing errant hair from foreheads with gentle fingers.

"Cass, are you sure about Jon?" Sam asked softly.

Cassie thought of the young man’s strong arms and his tender smiles, and she said simply, "Yes."

Sam seemed to trust whatever she saw in Cassie’s eyes, and nodded. After a moment’s silence, the girl said, "Do you remember that song I used to sing to you when you woke up from nightmares after you came to Earth?"

It was ‘Mockingbird’ and Cassie remembered Sam’s comforting embrace and the song like it was yesterday. "Yes, I remember it."

"Could you sing it?"

At Vala’s approving nod, Cassie smiled and began to sing.

Over in Lollipop Guild territory, Jon had gotten the boys changed and all but Jack into bed. Jack wouldn’t stop fussing with the blankets and pillow, finally sitting up and glaring a challenge at his clone.

"Did you go all the way?" he demanded.

"What?!"

Daniel sat up and said helpfully, "He wants to know if you and Cassie had sex, Jon."

"Thanks, Daniel," Jon said. "I actually got that."

"Well?" Jack insisted.

"It’s none of your business."

"That’s my adoptive niece you’re messing around with!"

"Still none of your business."

"I think that means yes, Jack," Daniel said to Jack.

"Thanks, Daniel, I got that," Jack said. Then he zeroed in on Jon again. "Did you use protection?"

"Yes!" Jon hissed. "I used protection and somehow I still ended up with six kids!"

Daniel fell back onto his mattress, giggling uncontrollably. "That’s a really good one, Jon!" he gasped.

"Thanks, Daniel," Jon ground out, returning Jack’s glare full-fold.

Jon and the four boys fell into silence after that, listening to Cassie’s soft song from across the room, Jon and Jack playing their alpha-male glaring game while the other three traded smirks.

When Cassie finished, she kissed the girls and came over to kiss each of the boys. Jon ruffled the boys’ hair, much to Jack’s annoyance, then went to give the two girls a kiss. The two adults then whispered a last goodnight at the door, Jack responding for the group in a warbled falsetto, "Goodnight, Jon-boy!"

There was a long pause in the dim sleeping chamber after the door closed, then Jack hissed, "Are they really gone, Teal’c?"

Teal’c slipped out of bed, crept to the door and pressed his ear against it. After a moment he reported, "Yes, they are, O’Neill."

Jack jumped off his mattress. "Turn up the light a little, will you, Teal’c? Okay, team meeting," he called.

Within moments five curious pairs of eyes were fixed on him. Jack crossed his arms, tried to stand taller than his current 42 inches, and announced, "We need to decide on a leader."

Daniel mirrored his stance and challenged, "Why do we need a leader?"

"’Cause we’re SG-1."

"Not anymore," Daniel countered, shaking his blond head.

"We’ll always be SG-1," Cameron said, backing up his general like a good little soldier.

Daniel looked doubtful, but continued to shake his head. "They won’t let us."

"Not officially," Jack said, "but they won’t give away the number."

"Yeah, they’ll retire it," Cameron said, "like for a famous ballplayer."

"They’ll think they retired it, but we’ll know better," Jack agreed. "We’re still SG-1 and always will be."

They all nodded at that, even Teal’c smiling as the others grinned.

Cameron scratched at his tow-white hair and asked with deceptive mildness, "So who’s leader then?"

Jack fidgeted, but managed to remain silent.

"We have three ex-leaders here," Daniel observed.

Cameron raised a finger. "Two ex, one current you mean."

"Well, Teal’c’s oldest…" Vala said.

Teal’c gave what he probably meant to be a close approximation of his regal adult nod, but it came off more as an embarrassed head-ducking. "I have no desire for a leadership role. Not since I was First Prime."

"Okay," Vala conceded. "Well, since we’re not really in the army anymore—"

Jack, Sam and Cameron corrected her simultaneously: "Air Force!"

"Whatever, but maybe a non-army guy like my Daniel could be in charge for a change."

Daniel waved an arm and gave a snort. "No way. That stuff’s boring."

Vala brightened. "A girl then!" She looked expectantly at Sam.

Sam shrugged. "I had fun when I led SG-1, but I didn’t have enough time for my science stuff." She peered impishly through her blonde bangs. "If not Vala…?"

The brunette shook her head vigorously, pigtail’s whapping her face in turn. "Not my scene."

"It’s between you guys, then," Sam said.

Jack and Cameron looked at each other.

"A vote?" Vala ventured after a moment.

"No," Daniel said emphatically. "No more hard feelings. It’s up to the two of them to work it out."

Jack struggled to keep his grownup persona in charge, as much as he wanted to kick and scream and throw a tantrum to get his way. "So, Mitchell?" he said with what he hoped was a cool drawl.

Cameron frowned and spoke thoughtfully. "When I came to the SGC, I wanted to join SG-1. *Join.* Next thing I knew, I was leading it. It’s been hella fun." He and Sam shared a grin. "But…" He took a deep breath, "If someone else wants to take a turn again, that’s okay."

This time Jack couldn’t stop the four-year-old in him. He jumped up on his bed and bounced as high as he could, blankets and pillow flying. "Yes! Yes!"

His team laughed with him, all hopping onto mattresses and pillows in an impromptu contest to see who could jump the highest.

"All right!" Jack crowed. "This is how all briefings should end!"

Daniel toppled off a big pillow to land harmlessly on Jack’s mattress. He pointed up at Jack. "Just remember, you lead when appropriate," he said pompously. "Not just to boss us around. Got it?"

"Me? Bossy?"

"Don’t make me beat you up again, Jack."

Jack stomped hard on the bed, making the little archaeologist giggle at the Jack-quake he caused. "No worries, Dannyboy. You’ll never get the drop on me again, anyhow."

"Sure I won’t, Jack."

Cameron bounced down beside them. "So? What’s our first mission?"

"Shh!" Jack glanced around theatrically. "It’s gotta be a secret or they’ll try and stop us."

"So you have a mission in mind?"

"Oooh, yeah."

***

Arm in arm, Cassie and Jon approached the stargate, a foggy blue twilight settling over Egerush. They laughed as they strolled, trying to decide which of the diminutive SG-1 was the cutest.

"I’m still holding out for Teal’c," Jon stated. "There’s just something so damn cute about that six-foot-four swagger on that tiny little body."

"But Daniel’s so adorable with his little frown," Cassie protested. "And Sam when she sticks her tongue out when she concentrates. And Cameron’s eyes are positively luminous, like pools of clear blue water. And Vala’s dimples should be registered as lethal weapons. And then there’s Jack…"

Jon groaned and Cassie tightened her hold on him.

"He’s like a little brown eyed angel."

"Yeah, ‘til he opens his mouth."

They laughed again and Cassie sighed. "I guess it’ll have to be a six-way tie."

They’d reached the stargate and Cassie saw the MALP there was a permanent fixture, featuring a large monitor with a two-way video feed. She was pleased at this sign of the strong relations between the two peoples.

She stepped up to DHD and belatedly realized she had no idea of Earth’s address.

Jon nudged her aside with his hip. "Let an old hand give it a try," he said.

She looked sheepishly at Jon, who grinned and punched in the coordinates.

When the wormhole established, Cassie hit the idiot-proof green button that read, ‘If You Are Going to Earth, Press Here to Send Identification and Establish Communications Before Entering Wormhole.’

"Or Go Splat Against the Iris," Jon completed solemnly.

Cassie hushed Jon with a waved arm as the screen fuzzed. "Um, hello?"

Walter Harriman’s face appeared. "This is Stargate Command. We read you loud and clear, Egerush."

"Hello, Sgt. Harriman," Cassie said politely, although such formality with her old friend seemed a little silly to her. She couldn’t help remembering the time Walter had spun her so fast on the tire swing at the SGC picnic that she’d thrown-up General Hammond’s Texas-style buffalo wings all over the his shoes. The poor man had apologized to Janet for weeks…

Walter smiled. "Good evening, Ms. Fraiser. I’ll notify General Landry—"

"Shove over, sergeant," came the general’s voice, then the man himself came into view, taking Walter’s place. "So, Ms. Fraiser, how was your day?"

She grinned. "Oh, um, eventful? Illuminating?"

"And Mr. Coventry behaved himself?"

"I always behave myself, sir," Jon protested from behind her. "Although we did meet six other little people here who don’t…"

Landry chuckled, then grew serious. "And your plans for tomorrow, Ms. Fraiser?"

"Well, the High Chancellor invited us to a conference to discuss the children’s future…"

"And you’ll attend?"

"Of course."

"As the SGC’s representative?"

"I—me, sir? Just…me?"

"Who better?"

"But such a responsibility… I barely know Cameron and Vala. And Teal’c is jaffa—"

Landry raised a bushy eyebrow. "Nevertheless, I repeat, who better? Look, Master Bra’tac is coming early tomorrow morning, Egerush time. He’ll discuss some options with Teal’c. But tell me, how do you and Mr. Coventry feel about taking an active role in the children’s future?"

Cassie was almost afraid to look at Jon, but the young man laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I think we see a role for ourselves," she began carefully, "but we’ll have to wait and see what the conference brings."

"I have every confidence in you, Ms. Fraiser," Landry said seriously.

Cassie felt an incredible weight of responsibility bearing down on her. The abstract ideals of decreeing public policy as it related to strangers and unknown nations was one thing. Making decisions that affected her closest loved-ones’ lives was quite another.

She shook her head helplessly, saying simply, "Sir…"

Landry leaned forward, fixing her with an intensity that seemed to reach through the billions of light-years separating them. "Young lady, I *could* send other people." He raised a hand, beginning to count off his fingers. "I could send Colonel Kovachek, or Colonel Davis, or both. I could send some D.C. diplomats or some State Department wonks or some IOC goons or the marines or even the president himself, if his advisors would let him go." He flapped his arms expansively. "I could send a hundred diplomatic experts and let them negotiate and yammer for a year. But I guarantee *none* of those people, myself included, could come up with a solution any better than you yourself will arrive at. And probably a good deal worse." He paused with a crooked smile. "You know these six as well as or better than any one in the galaxy, Mitchell and Vala included. I am one hundred percent positive that with Mr. Coventry’s help, SG-1 is in the best hands." He paused again, drumming his fingers. "Any progress in re-sizing the little monsters?"

"Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be much hope on that front," Cassie said with a regretful shrug.

The general lowered his head, peering up through bushy brows. "Frankly, there’re some people happy to see SG-1 gone, out of action, off Earth and in Egerush permanently. And there’re some who want them home where they belong, even if they can’t function as before. I think you can guess which camp we at the SGC belong." He paused longer this time, his eyes dropping for the first time. "Ms. Fraiser, I’ll be plain. We’re placing SG-1’s fate in your hands because we…I…want what’s best *for them.* Not for the Tok’ra or the IOC or the jaffa or even the SGC. Consider the political landscape, yes, but please, let your decision come from your heart." He frowned, clearing his throat, evidently embarrassed at having revealed so much emotion, and he continued with brisk matter-of-factness. "Master Bra’tac will be there, and Colonel Ferretti and Dr. Lam will return to offer moral support, but this is your show, Ms. Fraiser. Are you up for it?"

Taking a shaky breath, Cassie drew strength from Jon’s firm grip on her shoulder. When she felt she could speak, she said, "Yes, sir. I will do everything in my power to ensure the well-being of SG-1 and General O’Neill."

Landry nodded. "Well, I can’t ask more than that. Please check-in to brief me after the conference."

"We will, sir."

With a last nod, Landry said, "SGC out," and cut the wormhole off.

In the ensuing quiet Jon turned Cassie around and kissed her gently on the forehead. She was impressed with how Jon had held his tongue. She doubted Jack O’Neill at age twenty could have. Or age fifty. As much as she loved Jack as an uncle, and now as, possibly, a charge, Jon was his own man and she loved him as such. "C’mon, let’s go to bed," he commanded.

They walked in a contemplative silence along the emptying avenues.

Cassie felt the warmth of the lean man next to her. She though of the children sleeping soundly in their snug beds…

She could get used to this.

Losing Janet, then being away at college for so many years, she had been so very lonely. Sam had done her best, but she’d only been able to see Cassie when her schedule allowed.

Now, however, her life was looking anything but lonely. Not only Jon, but these wonderful, insane, demanding, wild children. Depending, of course, on what Anise had to say tomorrow.

"I’ve been thinking…," she began softly.

"Yeah, me too," Jon answered in the same tone. "Who do you think the father of Brigara’s baby’s gonna be?"

"I’m serious, Jon!"

"So’m I," he murmured, tugging her closer as they walked. "Dead serious."

Cassie subsided, tucking her head against his shoulder. He was right. They didn’t need to speak. They were both on the same wavelength.

It wasn’t long before they were back in the ‘Children’s Environs,’ standing in the dim hallway between the kid s’ room and their own.

Cassie curled a hand in the collar of Jon’s jacket, pulling the tall man close to her like a security blanket. "I could get used to this," she whispered, almost afraid to say it out loud.

"So could I." Jon dipped his head down, lips brushing over hers. "You and me and baby makes eight."

She grinned and released his jacket with a shove. "Let’s check on the kids before we turn in."

They pushed the door open quietly, the hall light revealing four empty mattresses where the boys had been sleeping. Cassie went to the partition to find the girls’ beds empty also.

In growing alarm, she looked back at Jon, eyes wide as she shook her head. Without a word, he went through the adjoining door to the bathroom.

Cassie turned up the lights and saw a scrap of paper sitting on a stool in the very center of the room.

Jon burst back in, announcing, "They’re not in the bathroom or the nursery either."

Wordlessly, Cassie held the paper-scrap out to him. Written in a very careful scrawl that she recognized as Daniel’s it said, "Gone on mission. Be back soon. —Love, SG-1"

 

  



	5. Chapter 5

  


 

In a deserted hallway in a building in the city of Egerush, six preschoolers slouched in a shadowy cranny, knocking their heels against the wall as they idled.

A tow-headed boy looked up and said, "This mission of yours is sure chock-full o’ heart-poundin’ excitement, there, general."

His brown haired companion glared. "That’s insubordination, colonel."

A third boy rolled blue eyes. "You guys do realize how stupid you sound, right?"

Still glaring at his target, the brown-haired boy said, "Duly noted, Daniel."

Daniel sighed. "Jack, how could you not have noticed the lab door had a lock?"

"I did notice. I thought Carter could open it."

Sam stared with outraged disbelief. "How? By knocking my head against it?"

Jack considered this solemnly. "Maybe."

"Jack—" Daniel began.

"She’s got naquadah in her blood!" Jack shouted.

Sam waved an empty hand in his face. "But I need a hand device, duh!"

"Yeah, yeah." Jack waved his own hand dismissively, then muttered, "I liked it better when you ended sentences with ‘sir’ instead of ‘duh’." As Sam smirked, Jack continued, "Look, somebody’s gotta come outta that lab eventually. We’ll go in then."

"Yeah, by then we’ll all have been spanked soundly and sent to bed," Daniel predicted gloomily.

"Cassie would never do that," Vala protested.

"Jon would," Daniel said.

"I’d like to see him try," Jack blustered. "I’ll—I’ll bite his knees off!"

As Jack stared fiercely at his team, smiles led to smirks, which led to snickers, and before long all six children were giggling at the mental image.

"Caution!" Teal’c suddenly warned, raising a plump fist in the air. "Someone approaches!"

The giggles cut off as the six little bodies that comprised the current SG-1 pressed tight into the wall’s rocky outcropping. A single Tok’ra woman walked swiftly by, unaware of the youthful surveillance.

After she’d passed on around a corner, Cameron asked, "Think they designed these corridors with us in mind?"

"I bet they would’ve if we’d asked," Daniel said. "They’ve really bent over backwards for us."

"Hey! No sympathy for the enemy!" Jack said.

"The Tok’ra aren’t our enemies."

"Maybe, maybe not."

Daniel heaved another heartfelt sigh.

Jack crossed his arms. "Anyone who makes me go to bed at 1600 hours is my enemy."

"Jack, it’s later than four o’clock. It’s dark outside."

"Look, with this mission, they’ll hafta take us seriously, after we proof we’re still a team."

"‘Prove,’ Jack."

"That’s what I said. Anyhow, I know Doc Uber-nerd’s still in there and I know he’s hiding something. We’re gonna nail him."

Teal’c raised his small fist again. "Others approach!"

Daniel straightened up as his teammates crouched lower. "Look, *I’ll* get us in there." Before Jack could hiss a protest, Daniel stepped out from the wall, directly in front of the two Tok’ra who walked down the passageway.

If Jack hadn’t been so pissed at Daniel he would’ve laughed at the Tok’ra’s reaction to the sudden manifestation of a Tau’ri child when they least suspected it. If Ra himself had materialized out of thin air Jack didn’t think they could’ve jumped any higher or gasped any louder.

As they clutched at one another in terror, Daniel piped up politely, "Good evening, sir, madam. Do you think you could help us get through this door here?"

He gestured at the lab door a few yards away but the couple’s alarmed gaze remained locked on the small blond boy.

With a sigh much like Daniel’s, Jack signaled to his remaining teammates and they all came out of hiding. Another ripple of terror coursed through the two Tok’ra. If it had been a mugging, this would be the point that the beleaguered couple threw their money at their assailants and fled.

Before the Tok’ra could make good on their escape, Vala bounced up next to Daniel. "Hi, there! Do you think you could? Open the door for us?" Vala loosed her full-wattage smile, a weapon honed and polished through many long years of social and political skirmishes. As she titled her head, brunette curls framing dimples, she clasped her hands behind her back, turned one toe in, and pivoted the toe back and forth, wiggling her whole body, her pajama top sliding off one shoulder with maximum adorability.

She was like Shirley Temple on steroids and Jack didn’t think two shots from a zat'nik'tel could be more effective at neutralizing an opponent.

The female Tok’ra blinked. "Children…" she ventured, in either greeting or statement of fact, Jack wasn’t sure.

The male Tok’ra’s terror subsided into wariness and he stammered, "What…I’m not sure…how…?"

The woman rallied with a shake that Jack suspected included passing command of the blended body over to the host, because her voice sounded normal as she said, "The children need our help, Perian. Of course we will do all we can. What an opportunity to interact!" She leaned down a bit, but Jack noted she still kept her distance. "How may we nurture you, young ones?"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Jack growled. "I’ll nurture *you.* Straight up the—"

Sam silenced him with a sharp elbow jab to the kidneys. Who knew preschoolers were so well trained in hand-to-hand combat? Speaking over Jack’s pained ‘oof!’ Daniel quickly said, "Thank you, ma’am. Like I said, could you help us open that door?"

The adults looked blankly at the lab door. "The door?" the man asked. "Is it too heavy?"

Teal’c bristled like a Rottweiler puppy. "Tok’ra! You think me incapable of such an insignificant feat of strength?"

Keeping her brilliant smile firmly in place, Vala whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Chill it, Muscles. You don’t have a manhood to defend anymore, remember?"

Sam weighed in at that point. She wasn’t as accomplished as Vala; she was a tomboy at heart, Jack knew, despite her insistence of a doll-playing girlhood. But that wide-eyed earnest look she employed even as an adult served her well: innocent eyes as big as sky-blue dinner plates, Sam said, "It’s not too heavy. It’s just that it’s locked and we need to get in."

Speaking to his comrade, the man said, "But if it’s locked, should they be allowed within?"

It galled him to be reduced to such measures, but Jack swallowed his pride, widened his brown eyes and looked beseechingly up at the Tok’ra, batting said brown eyes for good measure. Hell, it always worked for Daniel.

The woman melted under the combined cuteness-output of the six children, roughly equivalent to the energy emissions of your average neutron star, Jack figured. "The High Chancellor was quite explicit," she said, then recited ecstatically: "‘A child’s freedom to explore and roam away from confining observation is a lynchpin of his discovery of the world around him.’ How exciting to participate in the development of impressionable minds! It seems like yesterday that I myself explored the caverns of Salnimin as a young woman."

"Yes, the last 379 years have flown by," Perian agreed gravely, leaving Jack to wonder if the man was a master of dry wit or merely dense.

"I have no hand device," the woman said. "Perian?"

Perian nodded. "Very well." He walked to the door, pulling a ribbon device on, and passed his hand over the panel. He jumped back as SG-1 clustered up.

"Thank you, ma’am, sir," Daniel said.

The woman, looking well pleased, asked, "Do you require further nurturing, children?"

"Um…"

"Not at this time, Tok’ra," Teal’c said, dark eyes glittering balefully. His attempted threat was spoiled, however, by a pout and the woman merely smiled and remarked, "They are truly appealing, are they not, Perian?"

Whatever growled response Teal’c tried to make was cut off as his teammates pushed him on through the doorway. Vala gave a last dimpled and ringleted head toss along with a finger-wiggling wave and they shut the door firmly behind them, all six leaning their weight against it to latch it.

With a satisfied little grunt, Jack announced, "The mission’s first objective has been achieved."

"You’re welcome," Daniel prompted.

"Thank you for forcing me to humiliate myself, Daniel."

Jack looked around the same antechamber they’d been in earlier that day. No one was visible through the lab window. On one side of the room was a table surrounded by those stupendously uncomfortable stone chairs the Tok’ra seemed to love. "Okay, under the table," Jack ordered.

Six little bodies dove down like a troop of rabbits going to ground, bumping and shoving as they went. Crowded together on hands and knees, they peered out at the empty and silent room.

Bored again already, Cameron inquired, "Are we gonna do anything but hide and suck up to Tok’ra on this mission?"

Jack opened his mouth to give a snarky reply when Vala announced, "I’m sleepy."

Gritting his milk teeth with a distressing lack of grinding sound, Jack said, "Teal’c, Mitchell, peek in the window—I mean, *recon* the window and see who’s in the lab."

Teal’c and Mitchell crawled out from table to window, peeping in at the bottom of the glass. After a moment they returned. "Obernick is within," Teal’c reported, "as well as his fellow scientist and the NID officer. Also within is the Tok’ra Radin."

"Okay," Jack said. "Carter, Daniel, Vala: I want you guys to go check out that room Uber-nerd was sneaking into this afternoon. We’ll signal you if—"

The lab door opened at that moment and Colonel Morrison and the other NID scientist, a woman with wispy brown hair, came out. Leaning back in for a moment, Morrison called, "Obernick, you sure you don’t want to knock off for the night too?"

They heard Uber-nerd reply, "No, no. I promised them I’d figure this out."

"All right." Morrison let the door swing shut and walked with the woman to the exit.

"I wish I had Dr. Obernick’s stamina," she said with a wistful air.

"Yeah, the doc’s physique puts the rest of us to shame," Morrison drawled.

He ushered her out the door and the children were left alone once more. Jack opened his mouth to order his three science and cultural experts to move out when the lab door opened again. It was Obernick. Unlike earlier that day, this time he paused to take a good look around the room, checking that it was empty before venturing out. Completely missing the twelve round eyes fastened on him from under the table, and, reassured he was alone, the skinny scientist reenacted his route from the afternoon: as he pulled the mysterious metal rectangle from his pocket, he walked to the side door, pushed it open and passed in, letting it swing shut behind him.

Jack checked the lab and outer doors: still and quiet. He gave the hand signal for everyone to follow. SG-1 crept out from under the table, the pajama-clad mini-commandos converging on the door the scientist had just gone through. Jack, in the lead, pushed the door open a crack to peek in.

If the Tok’ra had a junk room, this was it. The small room was filled with scattered odds and ends, haphazard shelves crowded with jumbled equipment of esoteric and possibly obsolete purpose, along with loose bits of wires, and scraps of broken metal and crystal.

Obernick stood with his back to the door, close by one wall, fiddling with something Jack couldn’t make out. The other children pushed up behind their leader, widening the door, Cameron so eager to see he had crawled between Jack’s feet to look from floor level.

There was a sudden flash of flame from whatever Obernick fiddled with and Jack saw a wisp of smoke rising up.

"He’s setting something on fire!" Jack shouted. "Get him!"

The diminutive team rushed forward. Obernick half-turned at the last moment, only having time for a startled squawk before the engulfing tide of four-year-olds mowed him down.

*-*-*

Cassie and Jon raced down the dim nighttime hallways of the same Egerush building.

After reading Daniel’s note, they’d looked up at one another, guessed "Lab!" simultaneously, and, after Cassie’d stuck her head in Brigara’s room with a terse explanation, the two of them rushed out, not waiting for a response.

"They can’t really be in trouble, can they?" Cassie panted. "How much trouble could six little kids get into?"

They glanced at each other and sped up.

They were almost to the lab when they ran into Colonel Morrison. Literally. "Whoa!" he said, righting Cassie after she’d slammed into him as he came out of a side room. "What the hell—?"

"The kids disappeared," Jon said. "We think they went back to the lab."

Thankfully, Morrison didn’t argue, merely joined them. Just as well: he had a little grey metal ball in his pocket that he passed over the panel-lock on the door like a keycard. They opened the heavy outer door in time to hear an indistinct but childish shout followed by a clattering crash. Zeroing in on the sound, they burst into a side room.

As unidentified objects rained down from surrounding shelving, the six missing preschoolers swarmed over someone. All Cassie could see of SG-1’s victim were mismatched socks on thrashing legs, so she guessed the beleaguered form under the chubby horde to be Dr. Obernick.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jon shouted.

Jack, from somewhere near Obernick’s head, yelled, "I got it! I got it!" His small form sprang from the melee holding one arm up in triumph. Then he stared closer at the small white object he held, his triumph turning to profound confusion.

Cameron’s head popped up from where he grappled the doctor’s legs. "What is it? Is it a bomb?"

"It’s—it’s—"

Daniel sat up from his spot on Obernick’s chest. "It’s a cigarette, Jack."

Jack stood, stunned and gaping. "It—but—I—"

Teeth gritted, Jon said with exaggerated calm, "Guys, you wanna let Dr. Obernick up?"

As the rest of SG-1 crawled guiltily off the supine scientist, Jack continued to stare in disbelief at what was indeed a cigarette, ash falling on his grubby fingers.

Morrison gave Obernick a hand up and the dazed man stumbled to his feet, trying vainly to straighten now-bent glasses. As Morrison checked him over, the doctor fumbled with the metal object he’d been keeping in his lab coat pocket, dropping it to the floor with a clatter.

"A little bump, but I think he’ll live," Morrison announced. The colonel bent down and picked up the fallen object. It had sprung open and was now revealed to be a silver cigarette case, half empty. "So this is where you’ve been sneaking off to every five minutes," he said mildly, handing the case back to the scientist.

"Well—I—there’s—" Obernick stammered, face reddening. "There’s a draft—some kind of draft that goes up this duct here—" He pointed at a large opening set into the room’s wall about the height and shape of an Earthly vent, but with no grill covering. "And it pulls the cigarette smoke up and so I’ve been coming in here and I didn’t want to bother anyone, so—so—I’ve been coming in here to—to smoke, you know…"

Jon rounded on the quietly clustered SG-1, pointing to the floor in front of him and Cassie. "Over here, right now," he ordered.

The six children exchanged guilty sidelong looks and began to move with reluctant shuffling steps.

"Get your collective asses over here, *RIGHT NOW*!" Jon thundered.

They lurched into motion, ending in an unhappy huddle at Jon’s feet, Jack at the fore.

"I—I thought he was doing something dangerous," Jack blurted out.

"You thought *he* was doing something dangerous?" Jon asked with sarcastic incredulity.

Jack dropped his eyes. "Um…yeah?" he said, his answer turning into a hesitant question.

"How did you get in here?" Jon demanded.

"Someone came out and we caught the door," Jack said quickly.

Cassie pointed to the disheveled Obernick and, her voice filled with reproof, said, "This man is working hard for you, and you repay him by knocking him down and hurting him?"

Fifty years of experience evaporated as the four year old Jack squirmed, speechless with regret.

"Now apologize," Jon ordered. "And I want to hear some damn convincing abjectness."

As his teammates scuffled their sandals, the ever-diplomatic Daniel faced their erstwhile victim and said, "We’re sorry, Dr. Obernick. We were curious about what you were doing and then we saw the smoke and, well, I guess we overreacted. Sorry we hurt you."

"Oh, well, yes..." Obernick gave a nervous laugh. "No harm done I suppose…"

The kids began to back away at this point, but Jon snagged Jack by the scruff of his collar. "Jack?" he asked pointedly.

Blushing hard, Jack dropped his eyes and, with words seemingly dredged up from a great depth, mumbled, "Sorry I thought badly of you… Uh, you want this back?" He offered the bent but still smoldering cigarette to Obernick.

Jon snatched it away, stubbing it out against a rocky outcrop. Then he loomed over the children and jabbed his finger at the door. "Now go out and wait for us! And—and—" he fumbled for words in his outrage, "—and think over your misdeeds!"

When the kids had fled the room, Obernick straightened his clothes as the other three adults looked at him. "I—well, I didn’t mean to be so *mysterious,*" he said with another nervous laugh. "But you know how it is. Smoke Nazis are everywhere."

He shrugged and sidled quickly out the door, leaving Cassie, Jon and Morrison alone. The three of them exchanged a long look, then simultaneously burst out laughing.

Cassie leaned weakly against a shelf, rattling its contents as she gasped, "Did you see Jack’s face when he picked up the cigarette?"

Propped against the wall, Jon managed to choke out, "‘S-Smoke Nazis’…"

Morrison doubled over, hands on his knees as he quieted his laughter enough to say, "I can’t believe I brought a criminal of Dr. Obernick’s caliber through the stargate…"

With an effort their chuckles trailed off and they pulled themselves together. Morrison straightened his uniform, took a breath and held a hand out to Cassie. "We were never really properly introduced, Miss."

Cassie shook his hand with a smile. "‘Cassie,’" she insisted.

He nodded, then shook Jon’s hand. "Mr. Coventry."

"Call me Jon."

Morrison nodded again, then paused. Finally, with a touch of reluctance, he stated, "Wilber."

Jon raised his brows, lips twitching. "Thank you for your trust, sir."

"Don’t make me regret it," the other man warned.

With a look of shared resolution, the three left the side room, returning to the antechamber. They found their wayward rugrat team waiting as ordered, clustered together along the same stretch of wall Josiah had been standing at earlier.

Daniel, Vala and Cameron sat huddled in a little puppy-pile, sound asleep, Daniel in the middle with Vala’s head resting in his lap and Cameron slouched against one shoulder. Sam sat cross-legged, head drooping as she fought to keep her eyes open. Jack stood at attention as the leader he was in any guise, his scrawny little body arrow-straight, his 2IC, Teal’c, standing stalwart at his side.

Cassie’s heart melted at the sight and she saw Jon fight to maintain his game face as the three adults walked up to the children.

Jack’s eyes were red-rimmed as he squared his shoulders. "I’m the team leader," he said. "I accept full responsibility for the actions of my team. Any punishment should be mine and mine alone."

Jack’s sweet little boy’s voice reciting such stark military language liquefied the last remnants of Cassie’s heart and she bit her lip to stop the gush of forgiveness that wanted to come pouring out of her. Beside her, Jon seemed equally at a loss, despite the cloned man’s memories of fatherhood.

Wilber raised his brows at Cassie and Jon, a silent offer to intercede, and they gratefully nodded their permission. The gray-haired Air Force colonel hunkered down in front of Jack, meeting him at eye level, body slightly angled to include Teal’c and Sam. "I know you and your team have had bad experiences in the past with the NID," he began with a grandfatherly air that reminded Cassie immediately of General Hammond. "Am I right in thinking that that had a lot to do with the choices you made here tonight?"

Jack’s fixed stare left the far wall and flicked over Morrison. The boy voiced a reluctant, "Yes, sir."

"General O’Neill, please consider that the NID are not the bad guys, not anymore. We’ve cleaned out the rogue elements and you yourselves, along with Agent Barrett of course, took care of the Trust." He glanced down, looking up again with a wry smile. "Um, sorry I didn’t talk to you guys earlier today, but handling these scientist types is like herding cats, if you know what I mean. And besides, I, uh, I was too busy trying not to laugh."

Cassie smothered a smile of her own as she remembered the stiff look he’d given the kids after they’d met, and thoroughly teased, the geeky Dr. Obernick.

Cocking his head at the sleeping Daniel, Cameron and Vala, Wilber asked, "You’ll tell the rest of your team for me in the morning?"

Jack paused, but seeing no condescension in Morrison’s eyes, finally nodded.

"I don’t know what punishment may or may not be dealt out eventually," Wilber glanced briefly up at Cassie and Jon, "but for now, I think it’s time to go to bed."

Jon laid a hand on Jack’s shoulder. "Sounds like a good idea," he said softly. "Think you can walk that far, buddy?"

Blinking hard, Jack leaned into Jon’s grip in a way Cassie suspected was unconscious. "Yes, I want to walk," he whispered.

"I too would prefer to walk," Teal’c maintained, despite swaying perilously on his feet.

Cassie leaned over Sam and the sleepy girl lifted her arms instinctively. Cassie gathered her up, hugging the precious bundle close.

"I’m sorry," Sam murmured in Cassie’s ear. "We didn’t mean to make you worry."

"Oh, sweetheart, we love you, all of you, and we just don’t want to see any of you get hurt."

Jon collected both Daniel and Vala, holding the still-sleeping preschoolers one to an arm, their heads lolling on his shoulders.

Wilber picked up Cameron, saying in a paternal rumble, "C’mon, colonel, let’s go back to bed now." Setting out, Cassie heard an indistinct mumble from Cameron. Wilber chucked. "Yeah, we colonels gotta stick together, huh?"

As they left the antechamber, Cassie caught a brief sight of a contemplative Radin watching them from the lab window, one brow arched.

By the time they reached the children’s room, Jack and Teal’c were stumbling with weariness and fell into their mattresses with no prompting. When the other children had been poured into their beds, Brigara emerged briefly from her room, returning without comment when assured the children were now safely tucked away.

The remaining adults said goodnight in the hallway. "You two look about as wiped as the little ones there," Wilber said with a grin. He gave the couple a salute and walked off, calling back, "Sleep tight. Got a big day tomorrow."

Cassie and Jon managed to stay awake long enough to locate the large bed in their own chambers, wrap themselves up together, and fall into a dreamless slumber.

 

  



	6. Chapter 6

  


 

Jon woke in the morning to the smell of lavender.

He smiled. Cassie’s favorite shampoo. He hugged the warm body beside him closer, blinking his eyes open to find Cassie blinking at him. Their room was illuminated by diffuse morning light glowing from a high opaque window.

Cassie gave him a sleepy smile. "I dreamed SG-1 was turned into babies and we went to a Tok’ra city."

Jon raised his brows in mock astonishment. "Yeah? Me too."

Her smile widened. "So what does it mean when two people have the exact same dream?"

After due consideration, Jon asked hopefully, "That they love each other deeply?"

"Mmm, that’s what I thought…"

After a minute or so, Cassie fought her way out of the deep kiss they had fallen into. "Um, not to kill the moment, but maybe we should make sure Baby SG-1 doesn’t decide to target our bedroom for its next mission."

Jon chuckled into the warm curve of Cassie’s throat. "Right. God forbid they should need another lecture from Grandpa Wilber." He slipped out of their chambers and took a peek into the room across the hall. There was only dimness and the snuffly susurrations of slumbering children.

He returned to his and Cassie’s room. "Out like six little logs," he reported. He closed the door. "Hey, look!" he crowed, "*Our* door has a lock on it!" He threw the bolt with a theatrical flourish.

"Oh, that’s good—" Cassie’s comment turned to a shriek of laughter when Jon suddenly sprinted to the bed and launched himself at his girlfriend, landing in a tangle of arms and legs, blankets and pillows.

An hour or so later, the two young adults, marginally presentable and very hungry, wandered into the nursery, hoping to find breakfast. They were in luck: Brigara presided over the transfer of the final platter from food cart to table, an eager gaggle of children helping. When the nanny retreated, the eight of them sat and tucked into the fruit, pseudo-pancakes, and fairly convincing bacon-like strips the Tok’ra had prepared for them.

Before Cassie or Jon had a chance to broach any subject of their own, Daniel launched into a series of probing questions for the adults, keeping them talking while Jack ate silently, Teal’c and Cameron following their general’s lead.

Jon knew this game. Daniel expertly deflecting attention from Jack, giving the team leader breathing room to threat assess, consider tactics—and figure out how to weasel out of last night’s debacle.

Jack and Daniel had honed this routine through years of dicey summits off-world and budget meetings on, and Jon was getting a hell of a kick out of experiencing it from the receiving end.

As Sam and Vala joined Daniel’s chatter, begging the oblivious Cassie for a detailed account of how her graduating class’s valedictorian had flubbed her speech, Jon dropped a melon rind to his plate. Let them obfuscate to their hearts’ content. Jon would catch up with them eventually.

When the conversation lagged for a nanosecond, Daniel said to Cassie, "Speaking of graduation, I never said congratulations on your degree."

Deciding to play along, Jon joined in. "Yes, my girlfriend has a Masters in Public Bureaucracy." He winked at the cool look Cassie directed at him.

Daniel aimed a fork at Jon. "Despite what the ignorant think, bureaucracy is the basis of our civilization, in fact, any civilization."

"Sure it is. Red tape, long lines, rules, regulations..."

"Yes, rules like it’s not okay to murder people. You wanna do away with that one?"

"No, but—"

"Regulations like you can’t dump toxic waste in a water source even if it’s on your property. You want to tell the children born with birth defects that you don’t want to bother enforcing that one?"

"Daniel, those are worst-case scenarios."

"Yes they are. They’re also true scenarios, and exactly what we need people like Cassie to guide us through, especially when there might be two governments involved who’re at odds over what’s necessary and what isn’t."

Jon had the wits to know when he’d lost an argument. Besides, the look of embarrassed pleasure on Cassie’s lovely face was worth it.

When the last syrup-sticky finger had been sucked clean, Cassie pronounced breakfast concluded and the adults organized the tidying-up.

As Jon lugged a tottering tower of dirty bowls to the cart, Jack and Daniel ‘helping,’ Jack eyed Jon’s disheveled state. "What exactly kept you two so long this morning?" he asked.

Ah, obfuscation phase concluded, now time to go on the offence. Keeping his voice calm with an effort, Jon said, "Not your concern, Jack."

"We tried your door earlier. I don’t think it’s fair that you guys get a lock and we don’t."

"Jack, they’re still adults," Daniel observed patiently.

"So?"

"So you wanna walk in when they’re naked and having sex?"

Jon flushed, sure his face was the exact same shade of red as Jack’s. "Damn it, Daniel!" Jon and Jack shouted simultaneously.

At the double rebuke, Daniel’s face clouded over, his eyes blinking against tears.

Cassie swooped down, draping a comforting arm over Daniel’s shoulders and glaring in outrage at Jon. "Jonathan Coventry! Are you swearing at a defenseless child?"

"I—I—"

Jack, jumping in to deflect blame in true O’Neill fashion, said, "Jeez, Coventry, that *is* harsh."

With a last hard stare, Cassie guided Daniel away, speaking gently to him. Looking back at Jon and Jack, Daniel carefully turned his head out of Cassie’s field of view, grinned and stuck his tongue out at both of them, then re-schooled his features to wounded puppy-dog mode when he turned back to Cassie.

"‘Defenseless’ my cloned ass," Jon muttered.

Still a little red-faced, Jack avoided Jon’s eyes, grabbed the last few utensils off their corner of the table and scooted away. Well, at least Jack had backed off… In fact that little shit Daniel probably intended just that, Jon realized, shaking his head as he picked up the final heavy serving platter and placed it on the cart.

Beside him, Teal’c suddenly shouted, "Master Bra’tac!" and took off running to the nursery’s front entrance.

Jon turned to see the old jaffa warrior standing dumbfounded and incongruously resplendent in the drab nursery, cape bright red and armor gleaming. When Teal’c impacted with him, Bra’tac dropped to one knee and held the boy at arm’s length to search the small face intently. He must have been satisfied at what he saw, for he gave a stunned mutter in Goa’uld and pulled the tiny jaffa into a fierce embrace.

The other five children descended, clustering around, and Bra’tac’s head swiveled from one to another, mouth gaping.

"Tek ma te, Master Bra’tac!" Daniel shouted, and continued reeling off rapid-fire Goa’uld as the others yelled over him.

"Bra’tac, Bra’tac!" Sam tugged on his cloak as she hopped in excitement at his shoulder. "We thought this old device of Ba’al’s did this to us, but it turned out it was only a nightlight!"

Looking the warrior over, Cameron crowed, "Cool! You wore your old armor instead of those dopey robes. Did you think you’d have to fight the Tok’ra to rescue Teal’c?" He proceeded to demolish a defenseless blobby in an impromptu demonstration of a hypothetical Bra’tac/Tok’ra battle.

Vala beamed an ingratiating smile. "Master Bra’tac, how good of you to come. We’ve met so rarely, I know you’ve been dying to see me again."

Jack, standing with arms akimbo, shouted into Bra’tac’s face: "’Member how you knocked me down when we first met? Well, dare ya to beat me up now, old man! You’ll be arrested for child abuse!"

Jon massaged his temples and with a sigh weighed into the milling preschoolers. "Okay, okay. Guys, let the man breathe." Jon gave the ex-first prime a hand up. "Bra’tac, watch out the little savages don’t try to tie you to a stake."

Bra’tac stared blankly at Jon. "I do not believe we have…"

Daniel’s spiel in Goa’uld increased in volume and, accompanied with gestures at the cloned man, Jon heard the words ‘Loki’ and ‘Asgard’ as well as his name. Bra’tac’s confusion cleared enough for him to clasp forearms with Jon, saying, "Jon Coventry, well met."

Daniel’s exposition did not stop, but if anything sped up. From his position clutching Bra’tac’s leg, Teal’c joined in, offering up snatches of Goa’uld that may have been in support of Daniel’s chatter or, judging from Bra’tac’s exasperated look, something else entirely.

Meanwhile, Jack had joined Cameron in the disembowelment of the hapless Tok’ra-blobby, complete with sound effects of the epic conflict they enacted.

Behind the old jaffa’s back, Sam and Vala played some variation of the maypole dance using the corners of Bra’tac’s cloak as makeshift ribbons, the red fabric flapping as the girls giggled and pirouetted.

"Watch, Bra’tac, watch!" Cameron shouted. "See this cool Sodan move I learned?"

To Jon it looked pretty much like holding a corner of a blobby with one hand and chopping it briskly with the other.

"Pshaw," Jack sneered. "Just give it a good old-fashioned Jackie Chan kick!" He demonstrated, missing Cameron’s face by a centimeter or two.

"No, a Sodan chop!"

"No, a Jackie Chan kick!"

Cassie nudged Jon. "‘Lord of the Flies Reloaded’?" she asked with a grin.

Bra’tac took a breath and it let out with an explosive, "SG-1! Kree!"

The six children froze then immediately scampered to form a ragged line in front of the old soldier, even Daniel and Vala attempting to mimic their military comrades’ parade-ground stance.

Bra’tac glowered down at them. "Are you the Tau’ri warriors of legend? Or an undisciplined mob?"

Jon thought the old jaffa’s delivery was pretty convincing. Daniel, however, bored with playing soldier after all of twenty seconds (about ten seconds sooner at the age of four than he would’ve been at forty), smirked and elbowed Jack who stood rigid beside him.

"Quit it, Daniel, we’re at attention," Jack hissed.

In a stage whisper, Daniel said, "I think we’ve always been more mob than warrior."

"*Shut up,* Daniel!" Jack shouted. "And speak for yourself!"

Vala vibrated with excitement. "Are we really legend?"

Unable to hold on to his frown, Bra’tac sighed. "Yes indeed. And the legend only grows as you yourselves shrink."

SG-1 broke rank to cluster around him, laughing. A somewhat calmer, although still one-sided, conversation followed as the children brought Bra’tac up to date on their current predicament. Jon noticed no mention was made of the disastrous Uber-nerd Incident.

Eventually Bra’tac laid a hand on Teal’c’s head. "And now my old young friend here and I must excuse ourselves for a moment to discuss his future."

The children’s babble cut off as if from a switch and Jack jumped to Teal’c’s side. "What? Why? You’re not taking Teal’c away are you?" He turned to Teal’c, clutching the little jaffa’s arm, brown eyes wide with worry. "Teal’c, you’re not leaving are you?"

Teal’c looked from Jack to Bra’tac and back, silent in his confusion.

Hunkering down, Bra’tac put a hand to Jack’s shoulder. "O’Neill, I promise you, nothing will be done without much discussion and the consideration of many factors."

"But—but—"

Cassie squeezed Jack’s other shoulder. "Jack, nothing’s been decided. We’re still in the talking stage, so…let’s let Bra’tac and Teal’c talk, okay?"

Radiating suspicion and disapproval, Jack finally nodded and Bra’tac took Teal’c’s hand. As they walked away, the black boy’s five teammates reached out to touch and pat him. Teal’c didn’t return to the touches. However Jon, his old ‘Teal’c-dar’ up and running again, thought the little jaffa walked slower than need be, enjoying the attention in a way the adult Teal’c would have squelched.

When the two jaffa had left, the five remaining members of SG-1 plopped down in a glum circle. Cassie gave Sam’s blond head a gentle tousle. "Jon and I are going to get dressed now. You guys be okay for a few minutes?" She received a few dispirited shrugs aimed at the drab beige floor.

Returning to their room, Jon let Cassie use the shower first. If you could call it a shower: the water of the Tok’ra equivalent blasted out head to foot in double torrents from two vertical columns. Jon unpacked their bags, laying Cassie’s stuff out for when she’d finished. However, by the time Jon’s turn was over and he exited the Tok’ra water-storm, clonking himself on the head to get the water out of his ears, Cassie still sat in nothing but bra and panties at a mirrored vanity, staring at her own reflection with a frown. By the time he had tugged on his pants and shirt, Cassie hadn’t still moved.

"Hey, what’s up?" Jon asked, placing a hand to Cassie’s soft shoulder.

The young woman sighed and gestured to the mirror. "Well, just look at me."

Jon grinned. "Trying not to look too closely here, if you don’t want Round Two of our morning exercise."

Cassie pursed her lips in irritation. "I’m serious. I mean, I didn’t expect to be attending my first negotiation. And not just any negotiation! I’m opposing a crazy woman bent on keeping my family on another planet. Her and her—her galactic cronies!"

Jon’s grin grew. "‘Galactic cronies’? There’s an expression you don’t hear every—"

Cassie spoke over him, her voice rising. "Expected to operate on a—a galactic level myself! And I didn’t pack any formalwear. All I have from the SGC quartermaster are spare t-shirts and—and combat pants!"

"You’ll be sitting at a table, no one will see your pants."

"And the black t-shirt?"

"It, uh, well, it won’t be a distraction…"

"Right! It won’t distract people from my hair!"

"Your…hair?"

Cassie tugged in disgust on a lock of what Jon considered one of her most attractive features: her long rich honey-brown hair.

"I had intended to get it cut and styled! Something…sophisticated. Something grownup. But here I am, with the same hair I’ve had since high school, since—since childhood, really. Just the same straight, dull, boring hair I had when I left Hanka. I look like nothing more than a powerless little girl."

Jon suppressed a smile, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate teasing right now. He knew this kind of fear, remembered dealing with it in himself and others, and it had very little to do with Cassie’s hair or clothes and a lot to do with her youth and inexperience.

He knelt down and looked up at her. "Cass, you are anything but powerless. You’ve been raised by some of the most amazing people in the galaxy, if I do say so myself. Your own cronies, huh? And you’ve worked damn hard to train and educate yourself to handle situations just like this. If Anise strolled up wearing Versace and a Marge Simpson bouffant you’d still be every bit as capable as her, and more than equal to the task."

Cassie shook her head doubtfully, still looking with a dissatisfied frown into the mirror. "I look like a little girl," she repeated stubbornly.

He sighed, trying to think how to get through to her. "Cass, you’re beautiful."

She rounded slowly and pinned him with an icy glare. "Thank you so much for that input," she said coldly. "And won’t my sparkling beauty will be so useful at a meeting where my chief antagonist is a *heterosexual woman*!"

Jon backed up, hands high in surrender. "I’ll just let you think about what I said and get ready on your own, then, shall I?" He ducked out the door. "Take my chances in Chaos Central," he muttered as he hurried down the hallway. "It’s safer."

Entering the nursery, he found the five children still sitting in a despondent circle, idly nudging a sluggish blobby from person to person. Jon sighed and hunkered down beside Jack, knowing full well the little general would be feeling the potential loss of a team member the most acutely. Jon remembered squelching the most morbid thoughts at times like these.

Poking morosely at the blobby, Jack asked, "You think a hand device would be able to reattach a severed head?"

*Okaaay…* Jon cleared his throat. "Guys," he began, but was cut off by a high pitched shout of "Chel hol!"

Teal’c bounded into the center of SG-1’s circle and was promptly mobbed by his teammates.

"Teal’c, Teal’c!" Jack’s voice rose above the others’. "Are you staying?"

"At this point, I am, O’Neill," Teal’c stated, his staid word choice belied by the animated delivery.

Jon escaped the cheering preschoolers, going to Bra’tac who stood in the doorway, smiling. Jon arched a brow in question.

"Yes," Bra’tac confirmed, "Teal’c desired to throw his lot in with the rest of SG-1, that they may suffer their fate together."

A new shouting rose up. "Cassie! Teal’c’s staying!"

Jon saw that Cassie, straight hair, boring black t-shirt, cammie pants and all, had joined the children.

"See you at the meeting?" Jon asked Bra’tac.

"I will be there." Bra’tac nodded and left.

As the boys continued to pound Teal’c’s back in welcome, Jon joined the girls, who had tugged Cassie down to sit cross-legged.

Vala looked the young woman over critically. "This is all you have to wear?" she asked.

"Yes," Cassie admitted.

Sam and Vala clucked disapprovingly.

"I know," Cassie moaned.

"Well, on the plus side, your makeup looks good," Sam said with a consoling pat to Cassie’s arm.

Trying again to distract Cassie’s attention from her appearance, Jon groped for something deep and meaningful, something Daniel might say. "You know, mojo comes from the inside, not the outside." Oy. "Um, that didn’t quite…"

The three females spared him a pitying glance, then ignored him, Vala stationing herself behind Cassie and dividing the woman’s long hair into sections. "At least we can work with your hair," she said, frowning with concentration as she began to weave the glossy strands into a French braid. When finished, Sam tied it with a length of blobby string still damp from where she’d gnawed it off.

As the girls stepped back to admire their work, Jon said to Cassie, "I thought you said you didn’t need to be beautiful."

This time the young woman blushed. "I’m not."

"No, I guess you’re not beautiful now," Jon stated. At Vala’s glare, he concluded with a crooked smile, "You’re stunning."

They shared a sweet kiss as the girls melted into a sighing "Awww" and the three human boys made gagging noises. Teal’c, attempting a severe tone, inquired, "Are such sexual displays appropriate in front of young children?"

As the kids laughed, Jon decided to go on the attack before Jack’s troops could muster another obfuscating defense. "So about last night," he began.

"What about last night?" Jack dared.

Ah, defense over, on the offense now. "You know you could’ve seriously hurt Obernick or yourselves—"

"We knew what we were doing."

Jon raised a finger. "Look, little man, I don’t care who you were two days ago, I got half a mind to give you a smack on the butt."

Jack actually blanched as Daniel whispered, "Told you."

Jon continued, "You know damn well Dad would’ve put you over his knee without a second thought. And bare-assed, too."

Jack, attempting to rally, straightened up and declared, "You’d be smacking yourself."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn’t feel it and you would."

"‘Smacking yourself’?" Daniel mused with a thoughtful look. "Wow, I think that’s a concept worthy of philosophers. The symbolism of what the two of you are going through here is truly mind boggling."

"Daniel," Jon said, "if we could stay on target, please?"

Jack, recovering quickly and on the offensive again, said, "We need to solve this ‘little’ problem—" he made exaggerated finger-quotes, "and if the ‘adults’—" more sarcastic finger-quotes, "can’t figure it out, then SG-1 will."

Damn it, how had they managed to put him on the defensive? "Look, everyone’s doing the best they—"

"Remember that first time on Chulak?" Jack asked loudly, overriding Jon. "That whole ‘Children of the Gods’ deal? So now we’re supposed to be the Children of the Tok’ra? If you ask me, I think the snakeheads are planning to implant us."

A chill passed through Jon at the very thought, but Sam shook her head.

"No way," she stated. "We’re too young for blending. They never take children, only adults."

"What about Reetou Charlie?" Jack demanded.

"That was a special case," Sam said. "We were desperate to save him, remember? Considering how few symbiotes are left now, I don’t think they’re hurting for hosts."

Vala looked up from a clumsy attempt at braiding one of her own pigtails. "Anyhow, what’s wrong with staying here?" she asked. "It’s fun and there’s lots to explore."

Jack crossed his arms. "It’s not home."

With a shrug, Vala said, "Earth’s great, but it’s not home for Teal’c or me."

This statement produced a bit of an impasse, the children exchanging looks while their general scowled. Ignoring Jon, Jack looked to Cassie. "I need to be at this stupid meeting to tell Anise—"

"Jack, you’re not going to the meeting," Jon stated.

"You’re not the boss of me."

"I’d like to be," Jon said. "Cass and I both."

Another impasse as the reduced SG-1 traded more glances, then Cassie looked all six children over and said, "I’ve been specifically requested by General Landry to represent your interests to the Tok’ra." She paused to let that sink in then asked simply, "Will you let me speak for you?"

The children shrugged and shuffled, unwilling to commit while their leader remained silent. Jon knew the others wouldn’t give Cassie their full support without Jack’s say-so and Cassie must have instinctively sensed this too, as she turned to the boy expectantly.

Jack sat stock-still, his face a stony Special Ops mask that was all the eerier on the child than the man. He fixed Cassie with a cold eye. "Just one question."

"Yes?"

"When do I get my P-90 back?"

It seemed to Jon that everyone held their breath. Jack would respect Cassie now, or he would never respect her…and his team with him.

"In about twenty years, Jack," Cassie answered, not missing a beat.

She held Jack’s gaze with the same calm, intractable look that Jack himself had used on her not so many years ago when the teenaged Cassie had demanded the right to make a solo cross-country motorcycle trip. And it was obvious that she had no more intention of caving now than he had then.

After the longest ten seconds on record, Jack broke the stare-out with an explosive, "Fine!" He crossed his arms and lowered his head, hard-ass Special Ops vet instantly transformed to confused and unhappy four-year-old.

As Jon and the five other kids let out their collective breath, Cassie knelt up and leaned over to kiss Jack on the head. "Thank you, Uncle Jack," she whispered.

Jack shrugged and growled, but looked a little less unhappy.

Sam nudged her little general on the arm and said, "Cassie trusted me with her life when I led her into that missile silo, I think I can return the favor now."

"Auntie Sam…" Cassie hugged the small girl, both of them blinking hard.

Jon rolled his eyes and groaned. "Aw, c’mon, Sam. You’ll have us all blubbering, here."

"Sam!" Vala scolded with a moue. "Stop making Cassie’s mascara run!"

At that moment, the ever-prescient Brigara swept in. "I believe a tour of the Sun Gardens would be a pleasant diversion for young minds," she remarked, no one in the room mistaking her words for anything other than marching orders.

Jack tightened his crossed arms with a disgruntled, and mercifully inaudible, mutter.

With a dramatic sigh of resignation, Jon said, "Yeah, you guys suffer through a morning exploring a strange and interesting city, and Cass and I’ll go have the time of our lives in a stuffy room with a bunch of boring stiffs."

"Subtle, Coventry," Jack sniped, but he stopped griping.

"Okay," Cassie said, rising. "Don’t give Brigara a hard time." She gave each child a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. "We’ll report back as soon as we break."

When they’d left the nursery, walking along the hallway, Cassie nudged up beside Jon, and he looked down to find a shy smile directed up at him.

"Thanks for that pep talk, my love," she said softly.

"Did it finally sink in, how smart and beautiful and charismatic and capable and—?" He broke off with an "Oof!" as Cassie’s fist playfully impacted with his stomach. He looped an arm over her shoulders and hugged her as they walked.

"I just hope I’m good enough," she said, softer still.

"You are, my love," he said, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "You are."

 

  



	7. Chapter 7

  


 

Cassie and Jon found the Council Chambers easily, following directions from passing Tok’ra. They entered through a long arched access hall, into an airy room with a long table and plenty of chairs. Anise was there, with Radin and several other Tok’ra. In one corner, Bra’tac spoke with Carolyn Lam and Lou Ferretti. Wilber Morrison sat at the lower end of the table, sharp eyes taking everything in.

When she saw the Tau’ri couple’s entrance, Anise moved to one end of the table. "As we are all now present, I propose we begin," she announced.

As the other Tok’ra made to sit grouped around the High Chancellor at the head of the table, Cassie sped up subtly, arriving at the chair to Anise’s right seconds before the Tok’ra who’d been headed there made it. With a bland smile at the flustered woman she’d displaced, Cassie sat down, gazing about the room in apparent obliviousness.

Biting his inner cheek to keep from grinning, Jon promptly sat to Cassie’s right. Lou sat next, Carolyn beside him, then came Wilber who was already on that side of the table. Lastly, with a flourish of his cloak, came Bra’tac.

Cassie had effectively co-opted the idea of a ‘high ground’ gained from Anise’s presence at the ‘head’ of the table.

The impromptu human-jaffa alliance presented a united front against the rest of the Tok’ra council who, with frowns and pointed glances at their Chancellor, sat themselves down on the other side of the table, Radin taking the first seat to Anise’s left, directly across from Cassie.

The only Tok’ra who didn’t seem putout was Radin, who gazed with a fond smile at the Tau’ri.

Anise pursed her full lips, narrowing her eyes at Cassie, who returned a mild look of polite expectation. With an irritated shake of her head and a terse, "Very well," Anise turned to her left. "Radin, has there been any progress in ascertaining the workings of the Ba’al device?"

Radin’s smile grew. "Yes indeed there has been. With the children’s assistance we have ascertained that the device had absolutely nothing to do with the startling effects manifested on SG-1’s person."

Anise blinked in surprise. "Nothing…? But…then what caused their regression?"

"I have absolutely no idea," he said cheerfully. "And neither, to my knowledge, does anyone else."

The Chancellor nodded slowly. "I see. Well, this changes nothing. Or perhaps it makes it more imperative than ever that the Tok’ra retain protective custody of these young ones. Therefore it is my decree—"

"Excuse me, Madam Chancellor," Cassie interrupted. "Point of order, but I never received an agenda."

Anise’s renewed irritation at the interruption turned to a condescending smirk. "An agenda?"

"Yes, ma’am," Cassie agreed with a firm nod. "A list of the goals of a meeting, usually on paper, so all can read and know."

Anise gave a dismissive huff. "A Tau’ri affectation. We Tok’ra have no need for such superficialities."

Cassie raised her brows. "No need of knowing what a meeting seeks to accomplish? What points will be brought up and considered? What decisions have already been made? What has previously been discounted? What has been confirmed?"

Before Anise could counter the young Public Policy Master’s rapid fire bullet-points, Cassie leaned forward sharply and continued. "You stated yesterday that this meeting would be to determine SG-1’s fate, yet you equally stated your intention to keep them here in Egerush permanently. Which statement is true? Is your mind already made up? What factors did you consider? Has there already been a vote of confidence by the council? Will there be? If so, will non-Tok’ra be allowed a vote? In short, what exactly is the true agenda of this summit?"

Flummoxed, the High Chancellor’s mouth worked, but no sound came out.

Jon stole a glance down his side of the table. Beside him, Lou beamed like a proud papa; Carolyn pressing twitching lips tight in an effort to maintain her professional detachment; Wilber stared at Cassie with the wide-eyed admiration of a fellow soldier; Bra’tac’s mouth hung open with delighted amazement.

Face reddening, Anise finally spat, "We Tok’ra do not have—have—" she waved an hand in frustration, "paper-copy-making machines to produce petty lists of useless items—"

"I have a good memory, High Chancellor," Cassie assured her. "A verbal agenda will be acceptable."

Snapping her mouth shut, Anise’s eyes flashed silver. Cassie returned a bland smile.

This time Jon didn’t bother to hide his grin, and he leaned back comfortably as he whispered to Lou, "Oh yeah. ‘Clash of the Bureaucrats.’ Now all we need is popcorn."

*-*-*

On the other side of the building, six young children engaged in tactile learning, playing peacefully in the rich soil of a greenhouse garden under their nanny’s benign eye.

Or, as Jack viewed the situation, SG-1 mucked about in the mud long enough to trick Brigara into lowering her guard.

When his patience ran dry, Jack wiped the crud off his hands onto his leggings and marched up to Brigara. "Can we go exploring on our own, please?"

It killed him, having to politely ask permission for what he damn well should’ve been able to decide on his own, but he didn’t want their investigation nipped in the bud. If living with the Air Force for the last thirty years had taught him anything, it was how to operate in a hierarchical system: he knew how to head off unwanted attention and interference from the upper brass.

Brigara looked over the impressive stacks of mud-pies Sam and Vala had produced; the scale model of a marketplace (specifically an authentic Egyptian souq) Daniel had constructed in which to sell the aforesaid pies; as well as the massed troops of stick-soldiers Teal’c, Cameron and Jack had constructed, currently engaged in flanking maneuvers preparatory to surrounding and attacking the unsuspecting souq. She nodded with approval. "Your kinetic exercise and solar exposure is sufficient for the moment. You may now engage in adventure-fantasy play."

Jack bared his milk teeth. His feral leer had been known to make grown men blanch during his Special Ops days. Now, however, it merely deepened Brigara’s indulgent smile.

"Your friends Cassandra and Jonathan were very worried last night," she said gently. "Please take utmost care with your explorations today."

Dropping the leer with a sigh, Jack simply said, "Yes, ma’am." He had submitted to worse orders from people he respected a lot less than Nanny-zilla.

"Very well. I will collect you at noon-time for your meal in the nursery." She left with a rustle of her long skirt.

"C’mon," Jack called to the others. "Let’s go."

"Wait," Cameron said. "I thought the foot-soldiers were gonna slaughter the market vendors."

"Hey!" Daniel protested. "You can’t slaughter my souq guys!"

Sam crossed her arms. "Ha! The jokes on you," she told Cameron. "These aren’t just any mud pies. There’re actually landmines and we throw them at the troops and kill them."

"Nuh uh," Cameron maintained staunchly. "You can’t just change the game like that."

"Can too," Vala said. "You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first."

Teal’c cocked his head. "I fail to see how these mud constructs could contain the sophisticated mechanisms necessary for pressure triggered explosives."

"Uh, guys?" Jack called, waving a hand. "Not really kids here? Adults in tiny bodies? Any of this ring a bell?"

Sam flattened a bunch of stick figures with her hand. "Boom, boom go the landmines! There go the troops!"

"We catch the mines and throw some back!" Cameron shouted. "Boom, boom goes the market!" He stomped the miniature mud stalls.

Daniel jumped up and joined Sam and Vala stomping the troops as Cameron and Teal’c stomped the market, all of them shouting, "Boom, boom!" at the tops of their lungs. Jack couldn’t resist and jumped in, mud and twigs flying as they giggled and stamped. When their leggings were covered with a muddy splatter and the ground under them flattened beyond recognition, they stopped and gasped for breath.

"Okay, got that outta your systems?" Jack panted, hoping no one noticed he had laughed as hard as the rest of them.

Sam and Vala released a last few giggles as they wiped mud droplets off each other’s face. Eventually, after much ducking and protesting, they got the boys presentable, and Jack led his troop out of the sunny garden and back into the main building.

"You guys realize we’re back to square one again," Jack remarked.

"More like square zero," Cameron groused.

"Okay, we’re going back to the lab and we’re figuring this out," Jack insisted.

"Is this going to be anything like last night’s mission?" Daniel asked.

"…Maybe."

"I know I should be the voice of reason here…"

Jack gave him a pointed stare.

Daniel relented with a muttered, "Well, as long as we don’t tackle anybody."

Vala hooked her arm through Daniel’s. "Of course not, Daniel," she soothed. "We’re just going to drop into the lab to make sure Dr. Obernick’s okay."

"Good one, Vala," Jack said approvingly.

"I know," she smirked.

Jack paused and fixed his troops with a hard look. "Okay, remember we’re on a mission here and this is serious business. No kid stuff, understand?"

Receiving five solemn nods, Jack said, "All right, then." He raised a fist high. "To the Bat Cave!" he shouted.

He raced off, his five giggling troopers in hot pursuit.

As they sped through the building, they found that keeping their pace at a run shook off the more tentative nosy Tok’ra. Still though, by the time they approached the lab, their comet’s tail of curious Tok’ra numbered five hardcore paparazzi.

"This celebrity stalking deal is wearing thin," Jack growled, glaring at his fans.

"When are they gonna get used to us?" Daniel mused.

"Never," Jack stated. "We’ll be long gone before they get a chance to."

Daniel shrugged doubtfully. When they reached the closed lab door, he pointed at it, aiming a patronizing sneer at Jack. "So? Need *me* to get *you* in again?"

Jack returned a sneer of his own. "Nah, save your baby-blues, Dannyboy," he said, then gestured to Vala. "Let the Demon Shirley Temple slay ‘em with charm."

Daniel narrowed his baby-blues and the team watched as Vala smiled sweetly at their wary adult entourage. "Thank you for keeping an eye on us, but we’d like to be alone now," she chirped.

As the Tok’ra nodded gravely and dispersed, Jack scowled in disbelief at the dark-haired girl. "Um, hello? So how we gonna get in?"

Vala checked over her shoulder as the last adult disappeared around a bend in the corridor, then reached into her tunic pocket and pulled out a loose hand device jewel. As Jack gaped, she held it up, rolling it casually between thumb and forefinger. "It caught my eye in that junk room last night."

"You little thief!"

"I thought it might come in useful."

Daniel frowned with disapproval. "Vala, that’s stealing…"

Cameron clapped him on a shoulder. "Jackson, it was obviously junk no one wanted anyhow. We live here now, right? So why shouldn’t we use it for a while?"

"Oh well, that’s all right then," Daniel said sarcastically. "If we’re just *borrowing* it…"

"Now you get it," Cameron said cheerfully, ignoring Daniel’s deepening frown.

"Give it up, Dannyboy," Jack said, clapping the little archeologist on the other shoulder. "You’re outnumbered nowadays."

Vala stood on tiptoe and passed the jewel over the locking panel. With everyone pushing, they found the big door had indeed unlocked itself, and they shoved through into the antechamber. Once there, they crowded up at the lab window. Inside were only two scientists: Obernick and a Tok’ra woman. Still working on the erstwhile nightlight, they had it hooked up to several displays while they aimed some kind of tube at it.

"Oh, clever," Sam breathed, looking over the setup. "I think they’re trying to figure out what kind of radiation could’ve melted it like it did."

"Radiation?" Cameron asked, blinking in sudden concern. "We were exposed to radiation?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Even sunlight is radiation, Cam. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dangerous." She glanced with belated worry at Daniel, but he was paying her scant attention. "Besides, Carolyn checked us out."

Daniel had joined Jack and Teal’c in pushing the inner lab door open and soon the six preschoolers tumbled into the lab itself, mobbing the work bench.

"Oh! Children—!" Obernick squawked. He dodged ineffectually from one end of the table to the other, unsure which tiny threat to his operations to oppose first. The Tok’ra woman skittered along with him, trying to keep herself in the dubious safety of the Tau’ri scientist’s end-zone.

"Dr. Obernick, what frequencies have you tried so far?" Sam asked, poking a finger at the tube apparatus.

"Please, little girl, that’s delicately calibrated equipment—"

"Do you think it was radiation that zapped us?" Cameron demanded of the flustered doctor. "Are we gonna turn into mutants?"

"Mutants? I—"

"We already *are* mutants, duh!" Jack stated, flapping his short arms for emphasis.

"Well, young man, radiation is not necessarily—"

"So you know the device is a nightlight, then?" Daniel asked. "Did you talk to Josiah? Did you see the alefbet?"

"The what? Who is Jo—?"

"Oh, look, look! I can still see the ‘mem’ glyph in ‘shalom’! Oops, sorry." Daniel tried to reapply the sensor his pointing finger had just knocked off, nudging the alien artifact askew in the process.

"Little boy, that took hours to position!"

"You will not speak to Daniel Jackson in such a fashion." Teal’c planted himself menacingly in front of the agitated scientist.

"Now, now, Muscles," Vala soothed. "You can always beat him up after you’re been re-sized."

"Beat me…up?" Obernick blanched and edged away from the belligerent boy, jostling with the Tok’ra scientist to see who would get the favored hindmost position.

"They’re joking, doctor," Sam said with an impatient tap on the laser. "Ignore ‘em. Now tell me what you’re doing here."

"Nah, don’t *tell* us, for crying out loud," Jack said. "We’ll be grown up again on our own by then. Just *do* it."

"But I want to hear about the radiation," Cameron insisted. "Hey, I bet we’ll get super powers!"

"You already have super powers," Sam scolded. "Super dummy powers! Now let the scientists talk!"

"Yes! Yes, children," Obernick jumped in. "Let us scientists," he gestured meaningfully between himself and the Tok’ra woman, "talk, and all you children," he swept a hand at SG-1, "go, uh," he made shooing motions, "somewhere else."

Sam blinked in disbelief. "No, no, I meant—"

"Ha!" Cameron crowed. "Smack-down!"

"Oh, Dr. Obernick?" Vala purred from where she’d sidled along the tall scientist’s leg, tripping him up. "Where’s all the stuff that used to be in this room? Was there anything…interesting? Anything, oh, say, *valuable*?"

Flabbergasted at the non-sequitur, Obernick sputtered, "I—how could I—? I was not privy to—"

"It was here, right?" Daniel called from where he lay half across the table, trying to hold the melted cube steady with one hand and stick the loose sensor back on with the other.

"Nah, Danny, it was more to the right." Jack jumped up to help. "Over by this one here… Oops, sorry."

"*THAT’S IT*!"

Six Tau’ri children and one Tok’ra woman stared in astonishment at Dr. Obernick while his shouted words still echoed through the small room. The timid geek had transformed into a towering specter of academic retribution, stained lab coat vibrating with rage, his usually pale face red as he angrily adjusted his horn rimmed glasses.

"I have tried to be patient, but a laboratory is no place for children."

Jack and Daniel both dropped back down to the floor, Jack recovering enough to sputter, "We’re not children!"

"Yes. Yes, you are children," Obernick stated, plucking the sensors each boy still held from their hands. "Now you can stay and watch us work, but you can’t touch anything and you can’t interrupt us."

"You can’t tell us what to do!" Jack protested.

"Yes, I can. I’m being very reasonable letting you stay at all. Now," the doctor loomed over Jack and jabbed a finger toward the window, "stand back."

Jack puffed up, huffing unintelligibly, but Daniel tugged on his tunic and soon SG-1 was herded into a sullen cluster at the window.

As Obernick stalked back to the workbench, the Tok’ra scientist gazed at him, open admiration filling her eyes even as they flashed silver. "Dr. Obernick, you handle young ones so well," she said, smoothing long black hair out of her face. "Perhaps you could teach me your methods."

Obernick blushed. "Oh, ah, it’s nothing, Derel and, ah, Alvi. Children just need a firm hand. Of course I’ll give you any instruction you wish."

As they went back to their work, the two adults traded sidelong glances and shy smiles.

"I think I’m gonna puke," Cameron stated.

Teal’c nodded in agreement. "I also feel my morning meal sitting uneasily in my stomach."

"How come this geek has all the woman fawning over him?" Jack demanded. "First that NID chick last night, now this one."

"Maybe a little of SG-1’s cachet’s rubbed off on him, general," Vala observed.

Jack brightened. "Yeah, could be," he said as Vala hid a smirk.

Sam crossed her arms, alternately glowering at Obernick and staring longingly at the equipment, her fingers twitching at the sight of all those buttons and read-outs. "There must be someone we can talk to," she muttered, then, raising her voice, asked, "Um, doctor? Where’s Bill?"

Obernick didn’t look up from where he and the Tok’ra carefully reapplied the knocked-off sensors. "*Dr. Lee,*" he emphasized, "took a small sample of the metal back to the SGC to run some tests."

Sam’s scowl deepened. "Where’s Radin?"

"He’s at a meeting. Now what did I say about interruptions?"

Sam subsided with an unladylike grumbling that would’ve shocked her Air Force Academy instructors.

With a sarcastic eye roll, Jack asked, "Okay, so what’ve we learned so far?"

"That even geeks have their breaking point," Cameron responded promptly.

Jack waved a dismissive arm. "I already knew *that.*"

"Maybe we should watch the shrinkage video again," Daniel said.

Jack shrugged. "It’ll be good for a laugh at least."

The essence of politeness, Daniel ventured, "Um, Dr. Obernick? May we please be allowed to view that video again?"

Engrossed in calibrations at the laser, Obernick glanced over with a blank stare. "Video?" he said vaguely. "I didn’t bring any Disney videos."

Despite his comrades’ snickers, Daniel managed to grind out civilly enough, "No, doctor. The video from when we were shrunk."

At Obernick’s continued incomprehension, Derel touched a hand gently to his elbow. "The younglings mean the viewer recording. Please continue your work. I will take a turn tending to their needs."

"Thank you, Derel," Obernick said, and, to the tune of Cameron’s discrete gagging, smiled gratefully at the woman scientist.

Steeling herself, Derel stepped from the Uber-nerd Safety Zone and, edging past the knot of youthful hostility that comprised SG-1, activated a consol at one side of the window. She flinched as the children crowded up, but said bravely, "I will now instruct you on the operation of this equipment."

"I saw how it worked when Radin used it," Sam snapped. "Just cue up the recording."

Derel pressed a few buttons, then all but jumped away and, with a sigh of relief, retreated to Obernick and the workbench.

Once again SG-1 Lite watched SG-1 Classic enter the laboratory, four of them milling around as Daniel and Sam inspected the nightlight. At the point where Sam straightened up and turned away from the device and Daniel leaned down closer, little Daniel said, "Sam, stop it there."

When she had, Jack protested, "Hey, it was just getting to the good part!"

"Sam, why did you walk away from me just then?" Daniel asked.

Sam thought, biting on her lip. "Radin. I was going to ask him something. But…"

"Yeah. But. Where did he go?"

They stared at one another. Hesitatingly, Sam said, "He may’ve had a reason to step out…"

Daniel nodded slowly. "Yeah, he may’ve," he conceded. "After he insisted we come and look at some mysterious device. Some mysterious device that he couldn’t wait to show us. All six of us."

Everyone frowned in thought, but when no one had anything to offer, Daniel said, "Okay, let’s watch some more."

On the screen, big Daniel bent over the nightlight, then the staticky interference fuzzed the image out.

"Freeze it again," Daniel said. "Okay, Sam, look here on the video—"

"Apparently it’s not a *video,*" Sam snipped, giving the back of Derel’s head the evil eye.

Daniel grinned. "Okay, look here on the video-like-recording. It doesn’t really look like interference."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it’s not like static disrupting the—the film or whatever. Rewind it. Can you put it on, like, slow motion? Thanks. Okay, look, the fuzziness is manifesting *behind* Teal’c’s head before it spreads and engulfs him too."

"Yes, Daniel’s right," Sam said, excitement growing. She put the sequence on a loop and stood so close her nose almost touched the screen. "It’s not static at all, it’s an actual field of some kind. And it seemed like that field descended down from above…"

The two blond children stared at each other then slowly looked up, their four teammates mimicking them.

The ceiling held the same embedded purplish-blue hex pattern as the walls and floors, and while not as rough as the walls, it wasn’t as smooth as the floors either.

Daniel pointed to one grayish area about a half a foot in diameter. "What’s that discolored spot?"

Sam tilted her head. "It could just be a natural variation in the crystal matrix."

"Yeah, it could."

They all stared some more.

"Is the ceiling lower in here?" Sam asked.

Closest to the window, Cameron craned out and up, clonking his head on the glass in the process. "Ow. Yeah, it’s definitely higher out there."

Clearing her throat, Sam asked, "Dr. Obernick, Derel, do you know why the ceiling’s lower in here?"

The adults looked over at them then peered up in confusion as if the very concept of ‘ceiling’ were foreign to them.

"What possible difference does it make?" Obernick asked.

As if revealing the secrets of the adult universe, Derel said, "Children, a ceiling is merely the top of a room."

If a four-year-old could suffer a stroke from apoplexy, Sam would’ve. "Damn it, I know what a ceiling is!" she snapped. "I will not be treated like a remedial class dropout!"

Jack patted her arm. "Welcome to my world, Carter." He raised his voice. "Obernick, what about that discolored spot there? You know what it might be?"

Obernick didn’t bother looking up this time. "I think it’s a discolored spot," he said shortly.

"Gee, I think someone needs a smoke," Jack observed in a stage-whisper.

As Obernick rose threateningly from his crouch at the base of the laser, Daniel shoved Jack hard, hustling him toward the lab door. "I think we’ve learned all we’re going to in here," he announced. "Thank you, Dr. Obernick!"

The rest of SG-1 followed the two boys out to the antechamber, where they discovered Ba’al’s ex-host Josiah standing near the table, watching them with his intent eyes.

"Well, well, well," Jack drawled. "If it ain’t ol’ Boo Radley. Hey, Boo."

Daniel punched Jack on the arm. "Jack! You going for a record in pissing people off today?"

"No!" Jack denied hotly. "You kidding? This is nowhere near my record."

"Boo Radley," Josiah stated with a quizzical near-smile. "From ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. He was a…good guy."

Jack snorted. "Yeah. A creepy-ass good guy."

"Ba’al read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’?" Daniel asked in disbelief.

"He read…" Josiah frowned, trying to dredge up a memory. "SparkNotes?"

Daniel sniffed with disdain. "Trust a Goa’uld to cut corners when it comes to great literature."

"So whatcha doing out here, Boo?" Jack asked, immediately jumping to the side as Daniel prepared to punch him again. "What? It’s rude to spy on people!"

"Oh, but it’s not rude to knock people down and jump on them?"

Jack thought that one over. "What if they deserve it?"

"Anyway, who says Josiah’s spying on us?"

"Are you?" Jack asked the dark man bluntly.

"Spying implies secrecy. I am not hiding."

Jack nodded with grudging approval. "A classic non-denial denial. You’re not half bad, Boo."

"C’mon, let’s see if we can find anything else in here," Vala called and Jack saw the little brunette and Sam had pushed open the junk room door.

Shooting the bemused Josiah a warning glare, Jack followed his team into the little room. It looked much as they’d left it the night before and they spread out, taking their time peeking in corners, rifling through debris, craning to see upper shelves. Vala asked Teal’c to reach several enticingly shiny objects, but the hand device jewel she’d already liberated seemed to be the only true find in the place. The rest was just what it appeared to be. Junk.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor several minutes later, Jack gave up trying to piece the fragments of a busted zat casing back together. It was worse than a Rubik’s Cube. When he looked up to stretch his back, he noticed Josiah had followed them into the little room, doing his creepy wall-hugging routine again. The guy was stealthy as hell. Would’ve gone damn far in Special Ops.

"Hey, what happened to the draft?" Sam stood under the vent that Obernick had used the night before. "Remember? Obernick used the updraft to suck his cigarette smoke away."

On tiptoes, Daniel held his hand up to the opening. "Yeah, it’s gone."

Sam frowned, peering up. "You know, this isn’t very sophisticated. I mean, here’s a brand new building made by one of the premiere species in the galaxy and it’s just a hole in the wall. There’s not even a grill."

"Well, the Tok’ra don’t really design with naughty children in mind," Vala observed. "They’re a very utilitarian people."

"I want to see what’s up there," Sam said decisively. "Teal’c, could you give me a leg up?"

Teal’c cupped his hands and launched Sam up to crouch in the vent’s initial recess. She squinted into the darkness. "It’s tight, but I think I can fit. Vala, give me the jewel, would you? I’ll use it for a flashlight." She aimed the bright glowing gem up the narrow tunnel. "For once it’s good we’re small."

"I’m smallest," Vala said.

"Not by much," Jack said. "Next time a skinny hole needs crawling into, it’s all yours."

Sam looked back at them. "I can’t see the end, but it goes diagonally up in a straight line." She started climbing, moving immediately out of sight.

"Be careful," Jack called. He went over to where Josiah stood silently against the wall. "No offence there, Boo, but this is an SG-1 exclusive."

Josiah regarded the boy with solemn eyes. "Very well," he finally said.

A little guilty, Jack said, "Uh, we’ll catch you later, okay?"

Josiah nodded, then left.

Jack turned to find Vala glaring at him. "What? So I’ll invite him to a barbeque then we get resized."

"Humph." She spun away from him with a flounce of her pigtails.

Teal’c, still standing directly in front of the vent, looked down at his feet and bent to pick up some small fragments. "Something was broken here."

"Teal’c, something was broken everywhere here," Cameron said.

"No. This is completely shattered, as if intentionally obliterated."

There was a muffled shout from Sam: "I’m at the end. It’s just stops, sealed off."

"Can you get back down okay?" Jack called.

"Sure. Here I come."

Teal’c had collected a number of fragments and set them aside on a shelf. Then he jumped and pulled himself up to hang from the vent edge as if from monkey bars, peering closely, his nose touching the crystalline rock. "There is more of it up here. Something was broken directly on the ledge."

Daniel looked up from where he and Cameron were sifting through the little plastic-like pieces. "Can you tell what it was?"

"I cannot."

There was a shuffling noise in the vent.

"Sam!" Daniel called. "Look before you come any closer. Teal’c found something broken in the vent."

The shuffling paused. They heard a soft "Oh," and soon Sam crawled into view, awkwardly holding the jewel in one hand and something small in the other.

Teal’c dropped back down, making room for Sam. She tossed the hand-jewel back to Vala.

"What did you find?" Daniel demanded, jumping to see in his excitement.

Sam peered closely at the tiny object. "I think it’s an IR bulb."

Daniel deflated. "A what?"

Sam didn’t answer immediately, looking around her feet. She picked up another fragment. "Look, I think this is part of the socket." She glanced down at Daniel. "It’s a line of sight remote control, infrared. It’s an extremely simple device. You could find something like this in any electronics store on Earth."

"Is it from Earth?"

She scratched at it with a fingernail. "No, this isn’t plastic. It’s close, but not exactly the same."

"So what does it mean?" Jack asked.

Sam looked back up the dark vent. "You know, this tunnel runs back toward the lab, but it goes higher, to the area above it."

"Toward that spot on the ceiling?" Daniel asked.

"I think so."

"Should we go upstairs and see what’s there?" Cameron asked Jack.

Jack considered, then began counting items off with his fingers: "So we have Radin’s disappearing act; a vent that was open last night and is sealed off today; an intentionally busted remote control; and a weird spot on a low ceiling." He contemplated the four stubby fingers he held up. "That about cover it?"

Daniel and Sam nodded and said, "Yeah," simultaneously.

"I’ve sold Hammond on missions with a whole lot less. SG-1, we have a go."

 

  



	8. Chapter 8

 

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten, twenty-eleven--"

"Shut up, Mitchell! You’ll make him lose count!"

"Not true, O’Neill. Years of exposure to Tau’ri ways has left me immune to childish behavior."

"But Teal’c, we’ve only been kids a couple days."

Teal’c gave Jack a long-suffering gaze. "Indeed." He resumed walking. "I believe we are at step 32."

The six preschoolers walked along a second floor hallway in their Egerush building, looking for what lay above the laboratory that had transformed them from Original Recipe SG-1 to their present Reduced Calorie form. In an effort to locate the exact position of the lab, Teal’c had kept track of their steps on the ground floor below, retracing them now on the second floor. The rest of SG-1 trailed the black boy, pacing off from the utilitarian Tok’ra lift they’d ridden up on: an open-air moving platform that would’ve given a heart attack to any Earthly safety inspector.

At step 57 Teal’c arrived at a door. "This is the correct number of steps. The doors to the laboratory are directly below."

Jack checked around them. Blessedly, no Tok’ra fan-boys or -girls had found them up here. He gave the door a tentative push. It didn’t budge.

"It’s locked?" Daniel asked.

"Guess so."

"I think only dangerous places have locks." The blond boy knocked. There was no answer.

"Locked or not, we’re going in," Jack declared. He patted the wall-mounted locking sensor-pad, calling, "Vala, could you--?" intending to ask the girl to try her hand-device jewel, but the door swung silently open at his touch. "The hell…?"

"Cool!" Daniel said. "It opened to your touch!"

"Huh."

"Let’s see if it works for me."

Before Jack could stop him, Daniel shut the door.

"Damn it, Daniel!"

"Don’t worry, you can get it open again if you need to." Daniel pushed to make sure it was really locked again, then put his own hand to the pad. Once more the door swung open.

Vala jumped forward. "My turn!"

Jack thrust his body into the doorway. "Later, okay? For now, can we just look inside?"

The pig-tailed girl didn’t have a chance to argue as the others crowded up and pushed on through. Daniel went in last, commenting somewhat doubtfully, "Well, if it opens for us, I guess there’s no harm in just going on in…"

Inside was a single large room, sparsely filled with furniture; if you happened to consider the occasional stony outcropping to be furniture, that is. Jack looked over two high-backed benches facing one another across a low blocky table. "Is this supposed to be a living room?" he asked incredulously.

Cameron sprawled in mock comfort on one seat. "Ahhh. I want a couch just like this when I grow up."

"Guys, give ‘em a break," Daniel said. "They’ve been living on the run for a couple millennia. They’re only just starting to experiment in living like regular people."

"They’ll never be regular as long as they have snakes in their heads."

"Jack…"

"Whatever. Let’s keep looking."

Surveying the room in disapproval, Sam complained, "It doesn’t look like another lab."

"So what was so dangerous that it needed a lock?" Daniel asked.

"Well, there’s *some* stuff over here." Sam stood on tiptoes to peer at a collection of unknown equipment on a credenza-like crystalline protrusion along one wall.

Cameron joined her. "Yeah, but is it alien tech or artwork?"

"I’m pretty sure it’s tech, but more like odds and ends than serious on-going experiments."

"Kind of like what Sam’s house might look like if the SGC would let her take stuff home," Daniel observed.

Sam grinned. "Maybe."

Vala called from one corner. "This might be a kitchen over here. There’s a fountain thing, and cups and plates and stuff."

They moved farther into the big room. At the back end were a couple steps up into what was apparently the sleeping quarters.

Jack eyed a low bed-like platform hugging one wall in disgust. "I know they got all kinds of snaky endurance, but would it kill them to use a freakin’ pillow or blanket?"

Cameron peeked around a walled off corner. "Here’s the ‘limination room. Uh, no one come in, okay? I gotta go."

"Like there’d be anything to see if anyone *did* go in," Jack mumbled, giving the rocky bed a trial bounce.

"I wouldn’t talk, Jack," Daniel observed, giving a significant glance to Jack’s leggings-clad groin.

Doing a passable imitation of Teal’c’s deadpan delivery, Jack retorted, "No, Daniel, I believe it is *you* who should not talk."

"Um, excuse me?" Sam gave a little wave. "If we could talk about something other than you guys’…um…"

"Non-existent?" Vala offered.

"Um…"

"Equipment," Teal’c concluded firmly.

"What’d I miss?" Cameron bounded out of the alcove, straightening his tunic.

Before Jack could reply, Sam continued quickly, "Daniel, I think this is a desk here. Can you read this electronic tablet?"

Daniel clambered onto a stone stool beside Sam to look over the smooth surface of a small ledge. Sam held a notebook-sized Tok’ra tablet, the equivalent of an Earthly laptop. There were more unknown high-tech doodads strewn over the desk, which Daniel immediately began poking at. "I wonder what all this stuff does?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Kids, can we just snoop in the notebook?"

Daniel pulled his finger back abruptly, his face thoughtful. "You know, it’s one thing to analyze the belongings of a long dead people, but to break and enter a living person’s room--"

Resisting the urge to bite his tongue over his thoughtless use of the word ‘snoop’ in Daniel’s presence, Jack tried to reclaim his adult command tone. "Daniel, you said yourself the door let us in. Remember? I just want to know whose place this is, nothing more."

Daniel gave a reluctant nod, turning back to where Sam fiddled with the note-tablet.

"Might be a moot point," Sam muttered. "It’s not starting up. I think it’s password protected or something."

Daniel peered closer. "There might be, like, a title page even if the rest is closed off. I’ve seen it before on these things. Try that last button on the left side."

Sam fiddled again and the little screen lit up. Squinting at the alien text, Daniel read, "‘Restricted Access. Egerush - Physical Science Division - Physics Sector Prime. Radin.’"

The screen faded out again and the children exchanged stares.

"I knew it!" Jack shouted. "Radin! That son of a bitch! He did it!"

Cameron scratched his head. "Yeah, but did what exactly?"

"He--he-- Well…"

Vala’s muffled voice came from under the desk: "What’s all this?"

Her five eager comrades dove down to join her, elbowing and jostling to fit into a little cranny that even two of them might’ve had trouble fitting into 48 hours earlier.

Hidden away from casual view was a shelf. Vala held up something small and shiny, her dark eyes gleaming as bright as the unknown object. "Is it a jewel?"

Sam took it, looking closely. "No, it’s a crystal. One of the Tok’ra crystals."

With a huff Vala crossed her arms. "How come no one ever has anything valuable lying around?"

"It’s one of those expanding-vanishing tunnel doohickeys? Like on Vorash?" Jack asked.

"Right," Sam confirmed. "Before we got shrunk one of the engineers was explaining how they used them to actually grow Egerush itself." She turned the pinkish sliver over in her palm. "This is so tiny, though. It’s like a toothpick. Must be for very precise adjustments."

Daniel, still poking around on the shelf, said, "Hey, these are books." He pulled one tattered volume down and looked at the cover. "Oh wow…"

"What? What?" Jack hopped in excitement, almost bashing his head on the underside of the desk. "Is it a book on how to take over the universe?"

"No. It’s ‘Dr. Spock’s Baby and Childcare.’"

"Doctor…who…?"

"No, not Doctor Who, Dr. Spock. Benjamin Spock."

Jack gaped as Daniel held the book up for all to see, a Gerber-perfect baby beaming from the creased cover. It was a regular Earthly paperback, one you might find in any book store in the English-speaking world.

Cameron perused the other books on the shelf, reading off their spines. "‘What to Expect: the Preschool Years,’ ‘Your Baby and Child’ by Penelope Leach--"

"They’re all childcare books from Earth?" Jack demanded.

Daniel joined Cameron’s inspection. "Looks like it."

"Well, you know what that means, then?" Jack said, looking his team over expectantly.

No one answered as they looked one another over. Finally Teal’c stated, "No, O’Neill, we do not know what that means. Please inform us."

Jack deflated slightly. "Uh, well, neither do I exactly. But it’s a hell of a coincidence that this guy just happens to have a library on the care and feeding of Earth babies."

"Not necessarily," Cameron said. "All the Tok’ra seem gung-ho for keeping us here."

Daniel opened the Dr. Spock book up, checking behind the title page. "Copyright 1985. It’s a well-worn copy, but he might have gotten it used. There’s no way to tell how long ago he got it. Or why."

"But why’s it hidden here if he just got it recently because of the downsizing?"

"That’s harder to explain, but not really incriminating," Sam said, then shrugged apologetically at Jack’s stubborn pout. "You know Anise is going to want hard evidence. Radin could just have always been interested in children."

Jack looked around unsure, chewing at his lip. "I know there’s something going on here, but…"

Daniel flipped the pages to the opening chapter. "‘Trust yourself,’" he read, "‘You know more than you think.’" He met his teammates’ eyes as they all smiled.

"Wait," Sam said. "What about that spot?"

"Yeah, on the ceiling of the lab," Jack said. "Teal’c, do you know where it would be?"

Teal’c looked back to door, judging the distance. "I do. It should be approximately at our general location."

They all crawled out from under the desk. Sam considered the sleeping area. "Why is there a step up to this part of the room?"

"And in the lab the ceiling’s low…" Daniel said.

Like hounds gone to scent, the six preschoolers swarmed across the floor on hands and knees, scanning the hard surface intently. In front of the bed, Jack paused and sniffed the air. "Is it just me or does it smell like cigarette smoke here?"

Sam and Teal’c crawled closer. "Yeah." "It does, O’Neill."

Jack fingered a thick woven rug that lay by the bed. "A rug? He doesn’t even use a pillow, but he has a rug?" The rest of his teammates converged on his location and, with Sam and Teal’c’s help, Jack rolled the heavy carpet up.

"Here!" Vala patted at the center of the newly cleared area. "It’s grayish like the ceiling was!"

This was a much larger spot than the lab ceiling’s half-foot circle. More like manhole sized. Sam studied it closely, her nose smushed down as she scratched at it with a fingernail.

"So what does its being discolored mean?" Cameron asked.

"Well," she muttered into the rocky floor, "like I said before, it could just be a natural variation in the crystalline template."

"Or?" Jack prompted impatiently.

"Or," she conceded, grinning as she sat up, "it could be subsequent alteration in the original matrix, like the way a healed scar never looks like the original skin did."

Jack waved a hand for the little scientist to continue, prompting, "Alternation as in…?"

Daniel jumped in. "Opening it up and closing it again! Right?"

"I think so," Sam said, nodding vigorously. "And to do that, I think he used--"

"The crystals!" the whole team shouted together.

Vala scuttled back under the desk, returning awkwardly walking on her knees, holding her tunic out to act as a basket for the dozen or so tiny crystals. The team crowded around her, looking uncertainly down at the shiny bits of glass, a rainbow of muted colors and geometric shapes.

Sam chewed at her lip. "I never really used them. Vala?"

"No. I don’t think Qetesh had ever even heard of them."

"Sir--I mean, Jack." The blond girl flashed a grin at the little general’s bemused look. "I think you and Teal’c are the only ones with any experience with these. Back on Ravanna, remember?"

"Carter, I do my best not to remember anything about the Tok’ra."

"I recall, Samantha," Teal’c said. "Square crystals produced straight openings, rectangular ones produced long tunnels."

Sam squinted edge-on at several tiny pieces, then separated a yellowish one from the rest and gently set it on the floor. After she and Vala transferred the rest into Sam’s blobby-skin pouch, everyone but Sam jumped up on the bed. Then, with Jack holding one hand, the little astrophysicist held up the square-shaped sliver at arm’s length. On the count of three, Sam flung the crystal down, and Jack tugged her up to join the others on the relative safety of the bed.

With a crackle like a hundred people squeezing bubble wrap, the previously solid rock buckled and writhed, drawing away from the point the crystal had struck like the seared edges of a burning leaf, pierced and curling, disintegrating from the heat of a magnifying lens wielded by a giant naughty child. It spread much wider than Radin’s original gray scar, beginning to eat away at the base of the bed platform on one side and engulfing the top step of the sleeping area on the other, before finally dying down. When the steamy mist began to clear the children saw an irregular hole fully six feet wide, edges popping and flaring sporadically.

"That was indescribably cool," Sam stated, eyes alight with a fervor usually reserved for naquadah reactions and C-4 explosions. "I wish I could see it again!"

"Down, Carter!" Jack said, as if scolding a rambunctious puppy. "We’ll let you blow something else up later."

"But did you see the way the very molecular bonds lost cohesion?"

By now the last of the mist had curled away, and down through the open floor SG-1 saw not the lab on the floor below, as basic architecture should have reasonably predicted, with Obernick and Derel staring up in outrage; no, instead they saw what they had hoped for: a secret little stone chamber. However, contrary to their additional hopes, the chamber was completely empty.

Jack pounded his small fist on the stone bed. "Damn it! We keep finding stuff and still come up empty handed!"

"There might be something we can’t see from here," Cameron said, tipping his body precariously off the edge of the bed.

Jack craned his head, trying to see down around the hole’s rim. "Is it safe to go down now?"

"Would it stop you if it wasn’t?" Daniel asked.

Jack thought about it. "No."

Daniel asked Sam, "Is it safe to touch the edges now, Sam?"

Sam stretched one short arm down, tapped the lip of the hole with her finger, then inspected her fingertip. "Yep, it’s safe."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Ah, nice to know the scientific method’s alive and well."

They all dropped down, once again crawling around to explore the new area. It didn’t take them long. The secret room was a little deeper than Teal’c was tall and not much wider than the opening Sam had made.

"This would be a snug fit for an adult," Vala observed, stretching out her arms to see if she could touch the sides while standing in the middle.

Teal’c ran a hand along the stony floor. "There are irregularities here that seem to be scuffmarks." He pointed out three other scratches. "It is the imprint of something heavy that stood here."

"Some kind of equipment?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps."

Sam was fingering the walls. "I see signs of electric scoring on the stone."

"Look! Told you we’d find something! Zats!" Cameron pointed to two zat’nik’tels that sat tucked away in a little alcove on one side.

Vala patted the floor in the center of Teal’c’s scuffmarks. "It’s that grey color again. Must be the same spot as on the lab’s ceiling."

"And here’s a bigger spot." Daniel squatted at a curving junction of wall and floor. "Is this the other end of the junk room tunnel you climbed up, Sam?"

Sam considered it, then nodded. "I think so, yeah."

"Okay. Briefing," Jack announced. His team circled around, sitting cross-legged in the little chamber. "Okay, what do we know?"

"Are we at least agreed that the NID’s not responsible?" Daniel asked.

Jack conceded the point with a shrug. "Yeah. I guess that Morrison guy’s okay."

"And Obernick’s too goofy to be a spy," Cameron stated.

"Okay," Sam said, "here’s the way I see it, someone had a- -"

"Ahem." Jack cleared his throat significantly. "‘Someone’?"

"Someone who was probably Radin," Sam amended.

"‘Probably’!?" Jack demanded.

"Someone who was definitely probably Radin," Sam re-amended, "had a piece of equipment right here, right over where the hole-scar in the lab ceiling is."

"And we saw that the shrinking field came down from above in the video," Daniel said.

"So he had the hole open before we went in there," Sam said.

"And we never noticed," Cameron said, "‘Cause who looks up to check for danger in the home base of our biggest ally?"

"Tok’ra base, secure?" Jack muttered. "What was I thinking?"

"Once we were in the lab," Sam continued, "Radin dodges back out and goes to the junk room to Obernick’s smoke vent."

Vala raised her hand as if in school. "I know what comes next! He used that remote control!"

"You said it was line of sight, Sam," Daniel said, "so the tunnel must have been open at this end."

Sam nodded. "He triggers the shrinking device- -"

"Smashes the remote," Cameron continued.

"And returns to the lab pretending surprise at our transformation," Teal’c finished up.

Jack added, "And later goes back and closes up all the holes. Sneaky bastard."

"What about the nightlight melting?" Daniel asked.

Sam shrugged. "Either it was an unintended side effect or an intentional distraction."

"So was he the only one in on it?" Jack asked.

"And why did he do it?" Daniel added.

"And what did he use?" Sam said, scratching longingly at the scuffmarks.

"Well, whatever he used, he’s removed it," Daniel said.

"So what do we do?" Vala asked.

Everyone was quiet.

After a moment, Sam looked up from staring blankly at the floor and asked quietly, "Does anyone remember the exact moment we got little-fied?"

Everyone shook their heads, Jack adding, "No, but I remember everything before."

"But isn’t it kinda…distant?" Sam asked.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, like a movie you saw years ago."

"Or a piece of jaffa mythos," Teal’c said.

"Or an ancient book," Daniel said.

"Or a story the elders told around the fire," Vala said.

"Or an old ‘Creepy’ comic you kept hidden under your mattress so your mom wouldn’t find it," Jack said. His teammates stared. He waved a hand. "Whatever. The point is, I still remember," he repeated adamantly. "I had an apartment and a bank account and a truck and I can’t use any of that here in Snaketown and I want it all back."

"You can’t use any of that on Earth either," Daniel pointed out.

"Not like this, but as soon as you and Carter figure it out, we’re outta here."

Daniel and Sam looked blankly around the empty little chamber.

"Um, sure, Jack."

"We’ve learned a few things I guess…" Sam said.

"So let’s go confront Radin."

"Obernick said Radin was in a meeting," Teal’c said. "It is not unreasonable to suppose he is at the Council."

Jack brightened. "Cool. It’s been a while since I crashed a Tok’ra council meeting. Let’s go."

Leaving the zats behind (after Daniel refused point blank to let Jack take one), the kids helped each other out of the hole and went back to the lift, taking it down to the ground level.

"Okay, low profile, everyone," Jack warned. "We don’t want any snoopy Tok’ra stopping us."

"How’re we gonna find the council chambers if we don’t talk to anyone?" Cameron asked.

"We’ll make do. What ever you do, keep away from Nanny-zila." Jack turned a hallway corner and ran smack-dab into Brigara.

As Jack jumped back in alarm, the Tok’ra woman contemplated her errant charges serenely. "Children. The preparation of your noontime meal is near completion. Is your fantasy play equally near completion?"

"Uh, yeah, our fantasy’s almost over," Jack confirmed with a grimace. Well, if they were talking to her anyhow… "We, uh, just wanted to go see if it’s quittin’ time at the Council."

Brigara paused, either consulting with her symbiote Lise or running Jack’s verbiage through her internal Tau’ri translator. "A Council gathering will conclude only when all matters are settled. There is no time restriction. I observed in passing a moment ago that they are still in session. You may view the proceedings at the observation window if you wish."

"What window? Where?" Jack demanded, then took a breath and said with exaggerated politeness, "I mean, may we look in the window before we have lunch, please?" God, he was gonna turn into Daniel at this rate.

"This is acceptable. Please proceed to the nursery when your curiosity has been satisfied. The viewing window is on the second floor along the north-east wall."

"Thank you, Brigara," they all chorused like the harmless little urchins they weren’t.

Jack waited until she had passed out of sight, then motioned his crew to continue. "If the window’s to the north-east, then so’s the chamber."

A few twists and turns later they came upon the entrance to a short hallway, patrolled by two male Tok’ra. "This’s gotta be it," Jack muttered. He approached the men and spoke up. "Hey, guys, this the Council Chamber?"

"Yes," one conceded almost reluctantly, eying SG-1 with typical Tok’ra caution.

"Good. We need to go in."

The man who’d spoken stepped to block Jack’s advance, looking like duty was the only thing holding him in place. "I am afraid you are not allowed to enter, youngling," he said.

The sincere regret in the man’s voice only pissed Jack off, and the boy planted his feet wide, placed his arms akimbo, tipped his face up and said loudly, "We’re expected there."

"I do not believe that is exactly truthful, young one."

"You calling me a liar?" Jack challenged.

"Yes."

Jack blinked. Even he had no comeback for that. He tried a new tack. "I thought the whole point of the open-doors thing was that anyone can participate in anything."

The guard nodded briskly. "Yes, any adult. Not children."

Jack’s eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh hell to the no," he hissed. He spun around, marching off down the hallway, his troops scurrying to keep up.

"Jack…" Daniel said.

Jack ignored him, leading them to the lift and taking it back up to the second floor in an angry silence, then stalking down the corridor with an increasingly worried Daniel hop-skipping at his side, trying to read the brown-haired boy’s expression.

"Jack, what’re you planning?" Daniel asked. "We promised Brigara we’d stay out of trouble--"

"No, we said we’d view the council from the window and we will…to start."

They reached a corridor on the north-east side of the building and soon arrived at the observation window. The large Council Chamber was supported by extra thick stony walls and the window was deep set in an alcove, the other half of the wall extending another few feet on the inside of the chamber.

The children pressed up to the glass to view the council session below. Anise sat at the head of a long table, with the Tau’ri and Bra’tac along one side, facing the window, and the Tok’ra squared off along the table’s nearer side. Judging from her lips moving, Anise was speaking, though no sound carried through the thick glass. Cassie sat watching the High Chancellor closely, her alert body language radiating suspicion, with Jon at her side sitting so closely their shoulders almost touched.

"There’s the power couple," Jack announced, his tone mild.

Sam peered down at Cassie and Jon, then glanced at Jack. "So are you okay with them being together?"

Jack shrugged. "Yeah. Jon’s totally different from me. Even the me at that age. He just better treat Cassie right or I’ll whup his ass."

Sam grinned. "You and me both."

On the other side of Sam, Cameron put his ear to the glass, then shook his head in frustration. "I wish I could hear them…"

Jack raised a finger. "Exactly," he said approvingly. He stepped back and eyed the cross section of wall the viewing alcove presented them with, then, rubbing his small hands together, went back to the hallway. He paced a few steps further along, stopped and pointed. "Okay. Carter, get the crystals out, we’re going to tunnel into the wall right here."

"Jack!" Daniel shouted.

"Daniel!" Jack returned just as forcefully. "Stop being the voice of reason! How did what that guard said make you feel?"

"Um, marginalized?"

"And what does that feeling make you want to do?"

"Kick someone’s shin?"

"Good, hold that thought, you’re in the zone now." Daniel’s doubtful frown lingered and Jack assumed his most reasonable tone. "Look, the wall’s super thick. I just want to burrow in and eavesdrop, just so we know what we’re up against. Okay?"

Daniel’s frown never quite dissipated, but there were no verbal objections, so Jack moved forward with his plan. "Carter, can you do it?"

Sam was already crouching down, laying out the tiny crystals like a cat burglar perusing his lock picks. "It was rectangular for longer tunnels, right, Teal’c?"

"I believe so, Samantha."

She inspected a pale orange crystal from all angles, then held it up for Teal’c’s okay. He nodded.

"I think this should do it," Sam announced.

"Mitchell?" Jack called.

The little colonel walked back from where he had been patrolling the corridor. "No one in sight."

"We’re ready, then."

"Here goes nothing." Sam paused with a sudden smile. "Literally. ‘Cause we’re making the solid wall turn to nothing- -"

"Yeah, yeah. As much as I love geek humor, Carter…"

"Right." Sam slammed the crystal down. In vertical reenactment of the floor in Radin’s apartment, the solid stone glowed, crackled, pulled itself apart like the walls of the newly forming tunnel had developed a sudden and intense dislike for one another.

When the sparkling died down they found a skinny, rocky little cavern carved out of the deep wall.

"Instant hidey-hole," Jack announced with a grin and a flourish of his scrawny arm.

The children clambered right in, Jack and Sam first, Teal’c and Vala next, Daniel and Cameron bringing up the rear.

Jack tapped his knuckles at the front end of the tunnel, producing a solid thunk. "Carter, how close to the inside are we, you think?" he asked.

Sam looked from one end of their little burrow to the other. "Um…I’d guess we’ve got another half meter or so to go."

"Good. I want to fine tune it, get close and open up just a tiny little hole, just enough to be able to hear them through. Daniel and Mitchell, you guys close up the opening behind us."

"Close it up?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Not all the way, duh. Leave a big hole for air and light. I just don’t want the paparazzi finding us."

Sam pulled a couple transparent slivers from her supply. "Okay, I’m pretty sure these are vanishing tunnel crystals. They’re not angular like the other ones." She held them up end-wise to show Daniel and Cameron. "See? This one’s circular and this one’s elliptical." She passed them back through Teal’c and Vala. "I’m not sure which one’s better for this application- -"

"We got it covered," Cameron said, grabbing both and rolling them speculatively between his fingers.

Sam went back to shuffling carefully through her expanding tunnel selection. "Jack, was it primarily the shape of the crystal or the color that determined the directional flow of the resulting milieu?"

"The resulting who?"

Behind them, Daniel was asking, "Uh, Mitchell, how much do you know about Tok’ra crystals?"

"As much as anybody I guess."

There was the crack of a triggered crystal, and a rapid dimming of light as their entrance tunnel quickly shrank. It wasn’t until the purplish crystal-glow faded that Jack realized their light had completely vanished. The wall had sealed up tight behind them, leaving them in pitch blackness, encased in solid rock.

"Uh, Jack? We seem to have a situation here…"

"Ya think, Daniel?"

The children reached out automatically, blindly, little hands connecting, clutching the rough-woven fabric of their friends’ tunics and leggings, reassuring themselves they were not alone in their tiny bubble, surrounded by tons upon tons of stone, breathing a small and extremely finite amount of hot, stuffy air.

"Okay, nobody panic," Jack ordered, the air’s metallic tang like a sour after-taste in his mouth. "We just need to- -"

Suddenly the crystalline glow behind them flared again; like a sputtering torch, it grew, gaining strength, expanding into the tiny hideaway SG-1 crouched in. The rocky crystals popped and cracked like gunfire in the enclosed space and Jack flashed back to ten years earlier, seeing Cordesh’s host consumed by the vanishing tunnel on Vorash.

Daniel and Cameron ducked, Cameron shouting, "Why’s it doing that?!"

"It must be the matrixes the engineers embedded in the crystals," Sam said. "It’s like they programmed them to grow in certain ways and certain directions--"

"Ow!" Cameron huddled up against Daniel, pulling his small legs up desperately. "It tried to get my foot!"

"Jack!" The purple phosphorus-like glow accentuated Daniel’s blue eyes as he locked gazes with Jack over Teal’c and Vala’s heads. "It’s gonna eat us alive!"

With geometric precision, the crystals blossomed, row after remorseless row, pushing into the already tiny burrow SG-1 huddled in, shrinking it with each passing second. Trying to tug Daniel and Cameron up close, Vala crowded Teal’c who in turn pushed up against Jack and Sam.

"Carter!" Jack yelled. "Go forward! Use a crystal! Hurry!"

"I can’t--I can’t tell!" Sam cried, fumbling the tiny crystals in the near-dark. "Which one goes straight? Can you tell?"

"Straight, crooked! It doesn’t matter, just use one!"

Sam grabbed one at random and slammed it down. Light flared and the stony crackling crescendoed to an ear-ringing roar.

  



	9. Chapter 9

  


 

Jon’s butt was sore; he was hungry; he had to pee.

They were going on four hours now at the Tok’ra council. And he couldn’t blame Anise. Oh no. If she’d had her way the whole thing would’ve been over in about three seconds flat and SG-1 would be living in Egerush permanently.

He looked down, surreptitiously checking his watch, and felt a sudden flash of disorientation to find the common variety civilian Timex on his wrist instead of the Air Force issue timepiece he’d been unconsciously expecting.

He was off-planet, he was on a mission, but he wasn’t Jack O’Neill, not anymore. There’d been many such moments early on in his unusual existence. But the older he’d gotten and the more he’d diverted from Jack, the more they’d faded. Now, not even a ghost of pain remained.

For the past five years he’d been doing his best to suppress, or at least ignore, his old memories; or Jack’s old memories as he thought of them. This current mission might’ve been a real pisser, thrown back into his ‘former’ life, the life he’d never truly lived. But he now realized with no little surprise that it didn’t hurt. There were so many good times in there, locked up in his brain: with SG-1, with Sara, and, yes, even with Charlie. There was a distance now that let him look without touching, or maybe touch without being burned. He could only hope that Jack himself could now experience some of that same peace, for however long he remained a child at least. Regardless, Jon’s life was now his own, not just an incidental extension of Jack’s. And it had sure taken an interesting turn.

He returned his attention to the conference. Cassie had been doing her best to drag things out. Looking for an opening, any chink to drive a wedge into, to deflect Anise’s single-minded conviction that SG-1 belonged exclusively to the Tok’ra now.

Playing along with Cassie, the Tau’ri contingent had reported at exhaustive length. Dr. Lam, despite having discovered nothing new, had detailed her original findings, confirming the six little pests to be normal children, with a few irregularities: Daniel hadn’t regained an appendix, and Sam and Vala retained their naquadah residue.

Bra’tac had summarized Teal’c’s desire to remain with SG-1 and not foster with a jaffa family. He and the boy had both agreed that Teal’c was not yet ready for Ry’ac to see his father this way.

Jon, Lou and Wilber, having no reports to give, simply stared in baleful solidarity at the Tok’ra across the table. A job for which the three men were eminently suited.

After the Terran contingent reported, Cassie had questioned each of the council members at length, trying, Jon assumed, to probe the Tok’ra’s claim of being the happiest, baby-centric place in the galaxy.

Radin would’ve pontificated all day on the wonders and benefits of children if Cassie hadn’t eventually cut him off. The next Tok’ra down on the table, a woman who looked like she’d made a living out of sucking lemons, allowed with what seemed to be honest conviction that children would "forge new thought processes into ossified Tok’ra methodology." She seemed more cautious as to the frighteningly high number of children running amok: six (*shudder*), with a mere 2,378 Tok’ra to contain them. Nevertheless she was adamant that the set not be broken up.

The others on down the table had toed similar lines, some going so far as to cite inspirational viewing they’d caught on the bleachers outside the nursery, everyone’s favorite being that epiphanic moment when Daniel, well-known for his mild manner, had bypassed both logic and reason and simply beat the stuffing out of his notational superior, Jack, to prove his point. Not exactly what most humans would consider a shining example of behavior, but it seemed to be just the inspiring passion this emotionally closed-off race needed.

Gradually, save for Radin, the other Tok’ra dropped out of the discussion. Anise wouldn’t budge on releasing the children for any reason, although she remained perfectly willing to let Cassie and Jon stay in the room by the nursery for as long as they liked. "Egerush is a benign playground for developing minds," Anise said, and, looking pointedly at Colonel Morrison, continued, "Earth, on the other hand, may contain certain elements that pose a threat."

Wilber gave a seated half-bow. "Ma’am, true, there is great interest in certain quarters regarding the--the ‘youthening’ of adults, however pointless I personally consider it. And yes the NID would like access to any medical tests performed on the children; we may even suggest a few if everyone agrees they’re appropriate. But we are not planning on engaging in child abuse, especially not on the heroes who’ve saved Earth so many times."

"There will be no repercussions regarding their abuse of one of your scientists?"

Wilber smothered an unofficer-like snort. "Don’t worry about Obernick; he thinks it’s a hoot he was attacked by the famous SG-1 and lived to tell the tale."

Radin chuckled along with Jon and Lou.

Lou shook his head. "I haven’t had the heart to tell them SG-1 doesn’t really exist anymore."

Frowning, Cassie said, "But it does. They need a group identity, support from each other. That’s why Teal’c wants to stay. We can’t take that away from them."

Neither Lou nor Wilber contradicted her, though their skeptical looks spoke volumes. Radin, however, nodded, smiling at Cassie. "I agree, my dear. These Children of the Tok’ra embody the spirit of SG-1, and as they exist, so will it."

Cassie directed her serious frown at him for a moment, then turned to Anise. "High Chancellor, could you explain to me what future you hope for the Tok’ra with no symbiote queen to continue the line?"

Jon cut a groan off before it hit his vocal cords. Yes, delving into the enemy’s psyche was sound offensive policy, but, dang, he wasn’t sure his bladder would hold out.

Anise, looking torn between irritation at the obvious delaying tactic and enthusiasm at the subject, settled on a patronizing smile. "Using DNA from our dead queen, Egeria, we hope to utilize Asgard technology to create and incubate a new symbiote queen."

"A clone?" Cassie asked.

"No, not a clone. We will not make the same mistake the Asgard made. We hope to instigate a new individual. New blood, a new beginning. But if we are successful at all, it may take years, lifetimes even. Until then we will encourage our hosts to have babies, offspring, so if we fail some remnant of Tok’ra culture may survive, if not the symbiotes themselves." Anise took a breath and her supercilious smile turned almost wistful. "After War, we have turned to Science. This is why I, one of the Tok’ra’s chief researchers, was elected to oversee the council."

Despite Jon’s deep-seated suspicion of the Tok’ra, he found himself joining Cassie in an approving nod. Yes, the Tau’ri-Tok’ra alliance certainly saw its rough spots, but the Tok’ra had never flinched in the face of hardship in all the centuries of its existence and he didn’t begrudge them success in their efforts to perpetuate their species. As long as SG-1 didn’t end up as a pawn in their game-plan.

"Of course," Anise continued, "it will be several decades before we will be ready to biologically produce children of our own."

"Perhaps if you led by example?" Cassie prompted innocently, a wicked smile flickering on her lips.

"Me? Oh, no," Anise denied, a touch panicky, sounding uncannily like Brigara had when they’d broached the same subject to the nanny earlier. "Although Freya is perhaps more…eager than I." And her gaze flicked over Jon.

Cassie’s frown intensified as Jon lowered his eyes to trace hex patterns on the table-top.

Radin added, "For now, these little ones are as much ours as if they were our own flesh and blood."

"You seem to be assuming they’ll remain as they are now," Cassie said sharply. "Surely you have not given up on a solution."

"Of course not," Radin said, spreading his hands agreeably. "But I am open to suggestions."

Cassie frowned. "I’m not the scientist, sir, I think—"

Raised voices suddenly came from the chamber’s entrance passageway and with pounding footsteps a wild-eyed Josiah appeared, a guard close on his heels. At the sight of a roomful of people, Josiah skidded to a halt, the guard almost mowing him down from behind.

"High Chancellor, pardon!" the guard shouted, regaining his balance. "The system lord’s host refused to wait to be announced." He laid hold of Josiah’s arm.

Anise raised a placating hand. "If he wishes to address the Council, this will be allowed." The guard released Josiah and stepped back. "What is it you wish to say, Josiah?" Anise asked.

Ex-host fidgeted, vibrated with need, but he couldn’t seem to speak. His mouth worked silently, eyes flicking to the floor, the walls, the table, anywhere but at the people who stared at him.

Anise frowned with impatience. "If you have something to say we will listen, otherwise you would do well to leave and seek audience at some other—"

Cassie rose to her feet. "Josiah, is it the children?"

"Yes!" The word exploded out of the haggard man with relief.

Jon jumped up. "Are they in trouble? What happened?"

"I—they—they went—" he struggled.

Behind him, Brigara entered the chamber.

"Brigara!" Jon called. "Where are the children?"

"I do not know," the usually staid woman said with a worried frown, glancing around the room as if hoping to see her six charges lurking in a corner. "They should have returned to the nursery some time ago. I have been looking and hoped to find them here."

Cassie and Jon rushed around the table, Cassie coming up close to Josiah, being careful not to touch him. She gazed earnestly up at his distressed face and spoke softly. "Please, Josiah, can you tell me where the children are?"

He took a breath, swallowed and with visible effort forced himself to meet her eyes. "I—I followed them, watched them. They had Tok’ra glass. They went up there." He pointed high up on one side of the Council Chamber to an observation window. "They—they opened the wall."

Cassie just looked confused from the wall back to Josiah, but Jon stiffened with a cold pit in his gut. "‘Tok’ra glass’?" he repeated. "The tunneling crystals! They burrowed into the wall!"

The gathered adults barely had time to do more than exchange horrified glances when Jon heard the tell-tale crackle that had haunted Jack’s dreams for some time after Vorash.

The crackle increased explosively and up beside the window the wall suddenly peeled itself open like a stony crystalline orange. Catching a glimpse of small forms tottering at the drop-off of the new tunnel, Jon took off at a dead run, Cassie, Radin, Bra’tac, Wilber and Lou close behind him, the last three literally vaulting over the table in their rush.

As if they had practiced and choreographed it for weeks, the six adults rushed up in turn, catching the six children as they poured into the chamber, Sam, Jack, Teal’c, Vala, Daniel and Cameron falling neatly into waiting arms.

Behind SG-1 the vanishing tunnel fizzed and bubbled, bulging out into the room like a monstrous mushroom cap before finally grinding to a halt, a last few sparking crystals flying down and eating into floor, table and chairs as Tok’ra council members scattered.

In a sudden silence that rang as loud as the rocky grinding had, Jon crouched down, setting Sam gently on her feet. She stared back up at her handiwork, her blue eyes wide. "Holy Hannah…"

Beside them Cassie lurched to a halt, all but dumping her heavy load: Jack. The boy stumbled but managed to keep to his feet, brushing himself off as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Uh, thanks for the catch, there, Cassie. I’ll just, uh…"

Jon shot an arm out, snagging Jack by the scuff of his tunic as the boy began to edge away. Keeping a firm hold, Jon looked to where Cassie panted, leaning forward, hands planted on knees. "You okay, Cass?" Cassie wasn’t as petite as her adoptive mother had been, but catching a falling, and bony, 40 pound object was no easy feat for her.

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yes."

"Everyone else?" Jon looked at the other children being placed on their feet, Carolyn Lam moving from child to child, checking them out. They all looked a bit dazed, but reasonably steady.

"So, Jack…" Jon turned slowly to the boy who strained at the limits of his Tok’ra clothing, tugging him inexorably and reluctantly closer. With deceptive casualness Jon inquired, "Care to explain this latest boneheaded and incredibly dangerous stunt?"

Jack squirmed like a fish caught on a hook for a moment, eyes downcast, as tongue-tied as Josiah had been a minute earlier. Then he rallied, straightened up and shot an accusing finger out. "It was him! He did this to us!"

The gathered adults followed the tiny pointing finger to its terminus: Radin. The Tok’ra scientist looked up from where he stood watching over Teal’c, the child he had caught. He returned Jack’s glare with a mild smile. "I put you in the wall?" he asked politely.

Jack’s glare turned murderous. "You shrunk us! You did it on purpose!"

"Jack, slow down," Cassie said. "That’s a big claim."

"Well, it was a big crime! So don’t get mad at me, get mad at him!"

"Watch it, buster," Jon said. "You’re not the one giving the orders here. Now what are you basing this on?"

"We went to his room and found some stuff that proves he did it."

"Wait, hold on. Are you saying you broke into his rooms?"

Jack huffed in frustration. "The door opened for us! And anyhow, that’s not important!" He again jabbed a finger at Radin and announced with triumphant conviction, "He has Dr. Spock in his room!"

A confused silence settled over the listening adults: human, Tok’ra and jaffa alike.

Lou raised his hand in a tentative Vulcan peace sign. "Uh, do you mean *Mr.* Spock?"

"No!" Jack wheeled on the sniggering Daniel and Cameron. "This is serious!" he shouted.

"Jack..." Jon warned.

"He has a bunch of childcare books in his room and a secret chamber right over the lab and a spot where he opened the ceiling and shot some kind of shrinky-dink ray at us." Jack folded his arms like a prosecuting attorney finishing a successful closing argument. "He did it."

Before anyone could respond to that, Cassie suddenly asked, "Cameron, why are you limping?" She watched the tow-headed boy with a puzzled frown. "Did you hurt your leg?"

"Oh, that crystal-grow stuff caught my foot."

"What?!" Cassie descended on him, lifting his foot to see the heel of his sandal had been sheared off. "Oh my god!" Her hands flew over him, frantically checking that all body parts were present and accounted for. "Are you okay? Did it touch you anywhere else?"

Cameron shrugged, somehow managing to look simultaneously pleased and annoyed at the fussing he received. "It only took off the bottom of my sandal, not my foot."

Jon’s grip on Jack’s scruff hardened to a shake, fear making him speak harshly. "You irresponsible little--! You could’ve been overtaken by that stuff and entombed!"

Cassie shuddered, clutching the protesting Cameron tighter still.

Jon shook Jack again. "If Josiah hadn’t warned us no one would’ve ever had a clue what happened to you!"

Jack had paled, but stuck stubbornly to his casual act, doing his best to ignore the way he all but hung in Jon’s grip. He looked over to where Josiah stood behind Anise. "Progressed to spying, Boo?"

The ex-host didn’t look remotely apologetic. "You forbade my open observation. Spying was the next option."

"Fine, whatever," Jack said. "So you tell ‘em Radin’s the bad guy."

"I did not venture into his apartments and do not know what transpired there."

Jack clapped a hand to his forehead. "D’oh! Can’t you even spy right?"

"Jack, take a breath, okay?" Cassie said, and signaled Jon with a touch to his arm. "Let’s take a step back here."

Giving Jack a warning glare and shake, Jon released him, and the boy made a great show of straightening his tunic, an air of wounded dignity surrounding him.

"Start from the beginning, please," Cassie said. "First of all, why are you six covered in mud?"

"What?" Jack looked down at his brown-spattered clothes, then up at Cassie in disbelief. "What does *that* matter? We’re muddy ‘cause we were playing in the mud!"

"Yes, they had a fruitful tactile session in the Sun Gardens," Brigara confirmed, serene again.

"Ah, excellent," Anise said. "And was their solar exposure sufficient in your estimation?"

"Argh!" Jack all but howled. "Will you people stop being so weird! Radin shot us with a shrink-ray and all you can talk about is some mud?"

"Jack, calm down," Cassie said. "Now, how do you know the--the ‘ray machine’ you found is what shrunk you?"

"Uh, well, we didn’t actually find the machine, it was gone."

"You didn’t find…?"

"But we know it was there. We saw the marks on the floor of the secret chamber."

Cassie massaged her temples. "Secret chamber?"

"Under Radin’s room. When we opened up the floor, we--"

"Wait, ‘opened the floor’?" Jon asked. "Did you use those crystals?"

"…Yeah…"

"Do you have any concept of the danger you put yourself and your friends into?"

Jack stamped a little sandaled foot in frustration. "Will you just listen to me? You’re missing the point."

"You broke into someone’s room and found some baby-books and an empty sub-floor and that makes him a bad guy?"

"No! I—he—damn it!"

Daniel came up beside Jack, nudging his shoulder. "Jack, Cassie’s right. Why don’t you let me tell it from the beginning?"

"Good. Yes. Thank you," Jack said, part relief, part sarcasm, waving Daniel forward.

Daniel took a deep breath. "So Brigara took us to that greenhouse place and yeah, there was lots of sunshine coming through the ceiling and lots of good mud and we built a really neat replica of an Egyptian souq, not really Old Kingdom, I guess, much more modern, like, circa 100 B.C., ‘cause way back when they wouldn’t’ve been selling--"

"Daniel!"

"Oh. Sorry, Jack. Anyhow, that’s how we got muddy. So then Jack tricked Brigara into leaving us alone and—"

"Daniel!"

"I mean Brigara had to leave, so then Jack said he wanted to go to the lab and see if Dr. Obernick’d made any progress."

As Daniel continued, Cassie frowning hard in concentration, Cameron edged past the main group and tugged on Jon’s sleeve. "I’m bored. Can we climb on the table?"

"What? No! Listen, you guys are in enough trouble as it is. Now cool it!"

Sam had joined Daniel, backing up his story with an enthusiastic description of some doohickey Obernick and the Tok’ra scientists had been experimenting with. "They’d done a fairly decent job of the set-up, but I’m sure I could’ve improved on their design if *some people* had just listened to me and calibrated the—"

"Carter!"

"Oh. Sorry, Jack. Anyhow, they wouldn’t tell us anything, so we looked at the video of the shrinking again and Daniel figured out some kind of field had descended over us from above, so we went out to investigate it."

"On your own, with no adult supervision?" Cassie asked, disapproval plain in her voice.

Jack crossed his arms. "We tried, but Uber-nerd and that Tok’ra babe were too busy making goo-goo eyes at each other to listen to us."

Cassie was massaging her temples again. "‘Goo-goo’…?"

Jack shrugged. "My reaction exactly. Go figure."

Behind him, Jon heard Cameron’s voice: "Ma’am, can we go on the table?"

"As you wish," came the answer.

Jon turned in time to see Cameron, with Vala and Teal’c in hot pursuit, jump from a stone chair to the big conference table. The Tok’ra woman who’d given Cassie the evil eye for taking her chair at the beginning of the council stood watching the three children with academic detachment as they dashed off inches from the sharp edge.

"Lady," Jon said, "I just told them not to."

Complete incomprehension met his statement. "But they wanted to," she said with complete sincerity.

Cameron tore down the table’s long expanse, ‘brrrr-ing’ like a fighter plane. "It’s an aircraft carrier and we’re Hornets!" he shouted.

"Goddamn it," Jon muttered. "Lou, Wilber!" he called. "Could you guys…?"

"We’re on it," Ferretti said as Morrison nodded.

The two Air Force officers flanked the table, Wilber calling, "Kids, now’s not really the time—"

Vala took one look at them and shrieked, "Death gliders!" Giggling, she overtook Cameron, who sped up in turn.

When Jon came back to the main group, Jack was summing up: "He had Dr. Spock. He left the lab after insisting we look at that lame nightlight thing. He’s up to something!"

Far from looking guilty, Radin regarded Jack with complete delight: "So you investigated my rooms? How very enchanting. I am honored, though I wish I could have been there."

Red faced, Jack shouted, "You won’t be so honored when we kick your ass!"

"Jack, that’s not helping," Cassie said sharply.

Daniel said, "Radin, your rooms are right above the lab, right?"

Radin nodded. "Yes, I am on the floor above."

"No," Daniel insisted, "you’re directly over it."

The scientist shrugged. "I suppose I am. So?"

"Look, we admit it’s all circumstantial evidence," Daniel began.

"But added all together," Jack continued stubbornly, "it shows Radin did…did *something.*"

Cassie sent a questioning look to Jon, who shrugged and sighed. Yeah, Jack was being reckless, but it seemed plain that Radin at the very least knew more than he was saying. Cassie looked to Anise, but the chancellor only raised a noncommittal brow. To Radin, Cassie said, "Is there anything you have to say about Jack’s accusations?"

"Indeed yes. I would say that a child’s viewpoint enhances the perception of any endeavor."

Huh? This guy had nothing on Jack in the obfuscation department, Jon decided, glad Cassie was here to play diplomat, as grabbing the recalcitrant scientist and shoving him up against the wall to get some answers was probably a bit counterproductive.

But diplomat or not, he could hear the strain in Cassie’s voice as she said, "Sir, that doesn’t really answer the question."

Radin continued his infuriating smiling. "A child’s imagination is one of the reasons we Tok’ra are so fortunate to be hosting SG-1 in this time of transformation."

"‘Hosting’?" Jon asked. "So not the word I want to hear coming out of a Tok’ra’s mouth right now."

"Colonel Mitchell! Get your ass down here right now!" Back at the table, Lou had gone from gentle persuasion to barked orders in predictably short time.

"Do we hafta get off?" Cameron asked a Tok’ra man.

"A child must follow his muse," the council member said.

Cameron whooped in triumph and tore off again in an attempt to catch up with Teal’c.

"Sir, with all due respect, stay out of it," Wilber growled at the man. "We know how to handle children a damn sight better than you."

The Tok’ra and his companions merely watched the preschoolers tackling one another on the high, hard stone as if watching a sporting event. Jon vacillated, unsure where he’d be the most use.

Sam’s voice rose as she appealed directly to Anise: "But the smoke smell! How’d it get up in Radin’s apartment if there wasn’t an opening of some kind?"

"Yeah!" Jack seconded.

Radin smiled. "Ah! Such passion!"

Anise turned away from the children, dismissing their whole line of reasoning. Radiating complacency, she said to Cassie: "If you have no more questions, I have reached my decision."

Cassie shook her head. "No, I—I—"

She was floundering and Jon stepped closer, trying to offer support, but this meeting had spun out of her control, if she’d ever truly had any. Anise was a pronouncement away from claiming Egerush as the kids’ permanent home and Jon couldn’t see a damn thing they could do about it.

"I do have—I have more questions—" Cassie stated, trying to override Anise.

There was a sudden sharp cry from by the table and Jon saw Cameron curled up on the floor, clutching his arm, chanting, "Ow, ow, ow—" tears leaking from tight clenched eyes.

Brigara swooped down. "Calm, young Cameron Mitchell. All will be healed."

Teal’c and Vala jumped down, clustering close, while Lou crouched at Cameron’s side, saying, "Colonel Cam, you’re batting a thousand today."

To the humming pulse of Brigara’s hand devise, Anise gestured at Cameron. "As we see, the Tok’ra way is superior: healthy exploration followed by comfort and healing. Their place is clearly here with us."

Eyes flashing like a Tok’ra herself, Cassie said, "No. I see children running wild with no consequences, getting hurt and magically healed, and being programmed to think they’re invincible. Maybe it’s not even conscious, but you’re setting them up to rely on you completely. You’re setting them up to have no choice but to take symbiotes when they’re adults, just for self-preservation."

Far from denying it, Anise merely raised a cool brow. "I fail to see the disadvantage of this. Therefore, it is my decision—"

"No!" Cassie planted herself directly in front of Anise, bristling like a terrier, and the two women squared off. "High Chancellor, I have been charged with settling the disposition of these children by the SGC and the government of the planet Earth, and I will not be railroaded. Radin." She wheeled on the scientist. "You *will* answer my question."

"My Tau’ri friend, these emotions you access so instinctively are exactly what—"

"No! That’s not going to cut it! I want a straight answer and I want it right now!"

"Yeah, you tell him," Jack said.

"You, quiet!" Cassie ordered pointing at Jack. "Yes, even you, ma’am," she said when Anise took a breath to speak. Anise’s eyes flashing quicksilver with anger, Cassie rounded on Radin again. "Radin, people’s lives are at stake here. You can’t play games like this. These children deserve the truth."

Radin’s ubiquitous smile seemed a little strained as he asked, "What truth is this?"

"You tell us. Please."

His bonhomie finally faltering, Radin hesitated.

Big eyes a guileless blue in his little boy’s face, Daniel gazed up at the Tok’ra and begged, "Please tell us what you know. We need to understand what’s happened to us."

Helpless in the face of a Cassie-Daniel tag team of this caliber, the scientist took a deep breath, then let it out with a sigh, his smile turning wistful. "I know you will not accept my apologies," he began slowly, "although I offer them. I have no regrets, but I see I erred in thinking that I could enjoy the benefits these young ones will bestow on my people. Their actions, their insight, will resonate and inspire, but I will not be allowed to witness this. No matter. The fact of it will have to be my consolation."

There was utter silence in the room as Cassie shook her head helplessly. "Sir, what…?"

"Yes, I am responsible."

Radin looked down at Jack, Daniel and Sam and at the other three children clustered next to Brigara. Six pairs of wide eyes stared back.

"I am responsible for the regression of SG-1 and General O’Neill."

Everyone’s astonished gaze was locked on Radin, but Jon looked to Anise, pleased to see out of the corner of his eye that Cassie did the same. Who knew at this point how deep this plot went or what Radin would claim about accomplices? Right now was their only chance to see Anise’s unguarded reaction. Duly noted: If Radin had pulled a Minnesota walleye out of his pocket and slapped her in the face with it, she couldn’t have looked any more gobsmacked.

Jack marched up to Radin and ordered, "Change us back!"

With a gentle smile that Jon couldn’t blame Jack for totally failing to appreciate, Radin said, "Not possible, my young friend. This is permanent."

"No! No, it isn’t," Jack shouted. "How dare you?!"

"Jack…" Cassie reached out a comforting hand, but Jack shook her off, glaring aggressively up at Radin.

"You had no right! We have lives. I had a life!"

Radin shook his head. "None of you are married. None of you have serious, or indeed, *any* relationships. None of you have children of your own who live with you or are dependent on you. None of you have any social responsibilities." He spread his hands in offering. "You’ve all worked so very hard, sacrificed for so many years. Now you can rest and play and enjoy life while inspiring a soul-weary people to further greatness."

"Wait, permanent?" Sam asked. "Why? How did you do it?"

"A device of Nirrti’s which I discovered many years ago, but did not share with my fellows. At first for fear of its misuse. Later, the idea grew of the use to which I have put it. Mainer, my host, disagreed and I asked him to step aside for a time, so that I might prove my vision."

"Mainer consented to this?" Anise asked.

Radin hesitated. "I…convinced him that relinquishing control to me was in everyone’s best interest."

Cassie put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god…"

Anise, to her credit, looked as sickened as the Tau’ri. "Mainer… When last did any speak to Mainer?" She looked to the gathered Tok’ra, but they all slowly shook their heads. She turned back to Radin. "Radin, let us speak to Mainer."

Radin considered a moment, Jon readying himself for an ugly scene if the scientist refused, but he finally nodded. "Yes," he said, looking over the still-stunned children. "You will believe the host where you doubt the symbiote. This is not surprising and I hope the day may someday come when that is no longer the case."

He dropped his head, then almost immediately lifted it, Mainer in control now and his expression very different. Gasping, the host grabbed Anise for balance.

"Mainer!" Anise cried, helping him stand. "What has Radin done?" The man didn’t answer, still sucking in air and Anise continued in shaky tones, "A betrayal of such depth…"

"No! Anise, please, he—he—" Mainer’s voice was rough and he shook his head in a daze. "He was misguided, but he meant well…"

Jack bristled. "He meant well?! That bastard used you like a Goa’uld! And he used us like, like…" The four year old general broke off, wiping angrily at his reddening eyes.

Mainer almost toppled over in his haste to kneel down to get to Jack’s eye-level. "Jack O’Neill, yes, he used you, but he truly loves you—"

"Loves me? You’re crazy as he is. He doesn’t even know me!"

"Yes, he does, Jack O’Neill. He knows you all. He’s had his eyes on you for years, hoping." He paused to catch his breath, then with a shaky grin, stated, "SG-1." He touched Jack, Daniel and Sam lightly on their arms as if reveling in the opportunity. "SG-1. The shining example, the best the Tau’ri have to offer. He’s admired you, idolized you even. Can’t you see, he’s entrusted the very continuation of his species in you? When the battle with the Goa’uld was over, won, he lost his way. The Tok’ra’s purpose, over. He was adrift, scheming for a way to get even one member of SG-1 near Nirrti’s machine. Then the Ori threat was neutralized and Ba’al captured and you *all* came. I couldn’t stop him, I’m sorry."

Jack fought tears of frustrated anger. "He can’t do this to me. He’s no better than a Goa’uld."

"Radin’s been like a father to me."

"Some father. He’s nuts," Jack insisted.

Mainer gave a sad smile, the echo of his symbiote’s. "Yes, perhaps, around the edges." The host’s attention turned inward for a moment and his smile grew rueful. "No, Radin, you had your turn, now it’s mine."

Anise said, "Mainer, do you wish an extraction—?"

"No! No, I won’t desert him. He’s my family."

Teal’c, Cameron and Vala joined the other three and the children huddled together, the boys trying to look tough, but all six with reddening watery eyes. Daniel wrapped an arm around Vala, who didn’t bother to hide her tears. Sam, her voice hitching, asked, "But, the machine you used, the Nirtti machine, why can’t you reverse it? Where is it?"

Mainer, still kneeling, laid a hand on Sam’s shoulder. "It’s gone, Samantha Carter. The zat’nik’tels you discovered. He had it well planned. The machine was hidden in the alcove above the lab since this building was grown. When you were all in the lab, he left as you surmised, activating the machine with the remote. The melted nightlight was a…I believe you call it a red herring? Last night after you’d all left, he closed up the vent." He paused. "Dr. Obernick’s smoke was quite foul," he remarked with a vaguely outraged frown.

"But—but there must be another machine of Nirrti’s out there…" Sam said.

"Perhaps," Mainer allowed. "But if so, no Tok’ra has recorded its existence in all these many centuries."

He rose, gazing at each child in turn. "As you are now, only the fullness of time will alter."

The children looked numb with shock, all of them trying to maintain a grownup mask, all of them failing. Cassie immediately knelt in their midst, trying to somehow hug all six at the same time. The crying Sam she enfolded at once, pulling Cameron and even Teal’c in tight. Daniel and Vala, still hugging each other, crowded as close against the young woman as they could.

But Jack…

Jack stood alone to one side, a stiff little tin soldier.

Jon went down to the little general’s eye level. "Hey, buddy," he said softly. "I know this isn’t what you wanted. It’s not what any of us wanted for you. I’m sorry."

Sounding every bit the scared four-year-old boy he appeared to be, Jack whispered, "But—but, what’s going to happen?"

"I don’t know exactly what will happen now, but I do know Cassie and I will always be here for you. Always."

"No. I’m supposed to be in charge…"

"Hey, can you let us take care of you? Huh? Just for a little while?"

Jack paused, blinking hard, then gave a brisk nod. Or tried to. When he met Jon’s gaze his military detachment dissolved and Jon gathered the sobbing boy up, squeezing him to his chest.

It seemed to Jon that a long time passed; he rocked Jack slowly, listening to Anise giving orders, Cassie speaking softly to the other five kids. When Jack’s sobs slacked off to hiccupping gasps, Jon caught sight of Mainer-Radin being escorted out of the chamber by the two guards. Anise stood off to one side, contemplative.

Jack pulled away, wiping his nose and tugging his tunic down, eyes on the floor.

"You okay, big guy?"

Jack gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Sure."

Giving the boy’s arm a squeeze, Jon said, "Okay, then," and stood up. Cassie was likewise giving the other five a last reassuring touch before standing, and SG-1 clustered around their leader, Jack, all six silent and subdued.

"High Chancellor?" Cassie asked.

Speaking reluctantly, Anise said, "I…concede that this revelation changes the situation."

"Ouch," Jon muttered, enjoying the arrogant woman’s painful concession. Cassie elbowed him.

"Yet knowing that we Tok’ra are responsible only makes us more determined than ever to care-take these children. However!" and she raised a finger to forestall a heated response from Cassie. "However, we also realize our limits. It may be that…shared responsibility is best."

"Shared?" Cassie asked.

"Yes. We Tok’ra are perhaps not ready to fully embrace a parent’s role."

Another mutter: "Ya think?" Another jab of Cassie’s elbow.

Anise’s eyes flashed. "But we will not give them up entirely."

"Look," Jon said, "I know you guys mean well, but you have to understand that a parent’s job is not always being the good guy and saying yes to any little thing that pops in a kid’s head. Children need things that they don’t like, like chores."

"Chores? Oh no, the Children of the Tok’ra will perform no work," Anise stated.

Jon groaned. "Oh, hell to the no—"

Cassie stepped between them, holding up a hand. "Okay, joint custody, then. Between the Tok’ra and the SGC. One month in Egerush, one month on Earth. Acceptable?"

Cassie looked to the children first. They shuffled for a moment, but eventually Jack looked his troop over one by one, ending with Daniel. Daniel gave a decisive nod and Jack, with an ungracious shrug, murmured, "Okay."

"High Chancellor?"

"I will agree only if yourself and Mr. Coventry are to be caretakers of these little ones."

Cassie and Jon shared a smile. "That sounds good to me," Cassie said.

Carolyn Lam suddenly spoke up. "Um, there may be a problem with that."

Worried, Cassie asked, "What?"

With a twinkle in her eye, the doctor looked specifically at Jon. "I’m not so sure how the Powers That Be will feel about a young unmarried couple living together with six children."

"That’s no problem," Jon said. He turned to Cassie. "Marry me."

"What?"

Jon’s cocky grin faded, his expression sobering. He cupped Cassie’s face with both hands, saying softly, "Cassandra Fraiser, will you marry me?"

"…Yes…"

For once there were no gagging sounds from the boys as the young couple shared a tender kiss.

*-*-*

A few minutes later found Cassie’s Tau’ri contingent gone, as well as all the Tok’ra except Anise. Cassie was by the chamber entrance, sending the dejected kids off to lunch with Brigara, promising to join them soon.

Josiah still stood off to one side, watching and listening. Jon approached him and asked, "Why were you keeping an eye on the kids earlier?"

The ex-host cocked his head, considering. "They seemed to need it."

"Got that right. Thank you." Jon held his hand out, hoping the reticent man would shake it.

Josiah considered some more, then slowly reached out and clasped Jon’s hand with an encouragingly strong grip.

"Thank you," Jon repeated.

"In the end it did not matter that I warned you."

"Yeah, but it could’ve mattered. A lot. We won’t forget it."

Cassie came up beside them. "Yes, Josiah, thank you," she said. "When I think what almost happened—" She broke off with a shiver and, after all Jon’s careful handling of the ex-host, grabbed Josiah’s hand and pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek.

Josiah stiffened, but he didn’t back away and when Cassie released him, his face was distinctly pink.

"Ms. Fraiser," Anise called from the table. "Whenever you’re ready to begin again."

This time Jon let the groan come out. Cassie rolled her eyes as she went back to the table. "Don’t worry, Mr. Stamina. I think the High Chancellor and I can handle the details on our own."

"Oh, if you’re sure…"

"Now, Ms. Fraiser," Anise said as the young woman joined her, "I believe you implied the Tok’ra are ‘setting up’ the children to be hosts."

Consummate diplomat once again, Cassie said, "We understand that when the children are adults again they can make their own decision, but we will tolerate no pressure from the Tok’ra to blend."

"Indeed not. It will be their decisions only when they are adults."

"Yes, but I believe 18 years old is too young in this case. I think it fair that no decision will be allowed any earlier than 25 years old."

"…Very well."

Cassie and Anise shared strained smiles, Anise looking like she’d just detected a bad smell.

"And that’s my cue to leave," Jon muttered as he edged out of the room, noticing Josiah had already slipped away.

Deciding he needed some very specific supplies for what he had in mind next, Jon jogged to the stargate, meeting up with Lou and Carolyn just as they ‘gated to Earth. He spoke to General Landry via the video link, contributing to a brief preliminary report. Then, after a short wait, an in-coming wormhole shot out his requested supplies in a small backpack. He shouldered the pack and took off again, arriving at the nursery entrance just in time to see Cassie approach from the other direction. The thought, ‘That’s my fiancée,’ crossed his mind and he broke out in a grin. Cassie must’ve had a similar thought, judging from the radiance of her smile as she walked straight into his arms. Not even the presence of the once again filled bleachers of curious Tok’ra could spoil their kiss, and they entered the nursery together.

The kids stood in a loose circle playing a particularly unenthusiastic game of Catch the Blobby, Brigara off to one side officiating. The game was abandoned immediately when the kids caught sight of Cassie and Jon, and Brigara withdrew with her usual dignified nod.

Cassie and Jon sat cross-legged, letting themselves be engulfed by five out of six of their little charges. Jack held himself pointedly apart as Cassie, both Sam and Vala in her lap, reported, "Anise and I got the basics hammered out."

"You gonna share with us?" Jack demanded immediately. "Do we get any say? Closeted away in there, deciding our futures—"

"Jack, cool it," Jon growled.

Cassie said, "Sweetheart, we talked for all of 15 minutes once you left. You heard the most important part of it already. Basically neither we nor the Tok’ra are willing to give you guys up, so we’ll share custody."

Jack gave a mirthless smile, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Ya see? That’s the part I have a problem with, right there. That word, custody."

"Custody is the word for it, Jack," Cassie stated. "You need people to look out for you. You are all four years old and will be for a whole year. At the end of that year, you will all be five years old, again for a whole year. You will *still* need people to look after you. And at the end of *that* year you will all be six years old and you will *still*--"

"All right, all right."

"You all get a say," Cassie said. "Is anyone having second thoughts?"

"No," Daniel said firmly, giving Jack a glare. "Jack, you already agreed, so stop being a jerk."

Jack rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah, yeah."

"Jack, please let us do this for you. Jon and I love you." The little general had the grace to look abashed. "We love all of you." Cassie grabbed Jack’s hand and tugged the reluctant boy close. "And we want to trust you. However, last night’s attack on Dr. Obernick and today’s tunneling disaster…"

Jack dropped her hand, looking defiantly at the floor.

"Jack, you do understand that it can’t happen again?"

The boy shrugged, silent.

"Um, Anise left the question of punishment in our hands. So…" She looked helplessly at Jon.

"Got it covered," he said, patting the backpack he’d just gotten from the SGC. "Go on and take a break, Cass. It may get a little nasty in here."

She raised a brow and the children exchanged nervous glances. Jon stared at them stonily. "All right," Cassie said. "See you guys later."

When Cassie had left, Jon faced off six expressions ranging from apprehension to hostility. His gaze settled on Jack.

As satisfying as spanking Jack’s obnoxious little behind would be for Jon, it would only cause resentment. Jack thrived on conflict, and even at the age of four physical pain was merely a challenge to him. No, this little monster and his gullible underlings needed something truly gruesome and uncalled for to keep them in line.

Jon sat the backpack down and pulled out a half-dozen No.2 pencils and a ream of blank paper.

"SG-1, I want your mission reports," he announced.

There were groans which cut off abruptly when he raised his head, eyes sharp and uncompromising. Satisfied at the instant silence, he counted out some sheets.

"Teal’c, Cameron, Vala: I want at least five pages." The three looked resigned as he handed them five sheets each.

"Daniel, Sam: no *more* than five pages." Daniel opened his mouth to argue, but Jon quelled him with a look. The clone wasn’t sure if Daniel had ever topped his previous record of a 78 page report, single-spaced, but had no desire to put it to the test right now.

"Jack." He counted out a considerably larger amount. "Twenty pages."

The boy’s eyes widened. Jon knew full well Jack hadn’t written a mission report more than six pages long on even the most complicated maneuver. Even the first mission to Abydos had come in at a lean five-and-a-half pages. Looking pointedly at the mutinous brown-haired boy, he specified, "Your own words, your own handwriting." Including the others in his glance, he went on, "All of you, I want to know what happened on these two missions, and more importantly, I want to know what went wrong and how you should’ve handled things differently." He knew he was taking a chance even dignifying these escapades with name of ‘missions,’ but these six had been adults not so long ago and he needed to take them, and their capabilities, seriously.

"Now spread out, everyone, and find a spot." Jon leaned back against a stool, stretching his legs out with a satisfied sigh. This might take a little while.

*-*-*

Three long and painful hours later Jack sat glumly shaking his hand out. "I can’t believe we’re gonna be stuck here in Snakeville half the time."

Glancing around to make sure no adult was in hearing range, Daniel bestowed his team leader with a condescending smirk. "Jack, Jack, Jack," the little archeologist said, shaking his head. "You need to look at the big picture." He leaned closer, his conspiratorial manner drawing all of SG-1 together as he whispered, "Just think how much easier it will be to access the stargate from here, than on Earth."

The smiles that spread over the six little pseudo-innocent faces would’ve made even a Goa’uld nervous.

-end-

 

  



End file.
